As one of the most prolific letter writers in Virginia, I was authorized to extend National Handwriting Day into a National Handwriting Month celebration from 23 January to 23 February

The lost art of handwriting is one of the few ways we can uniquely express ourselves. There’s something poetic about grasping a writing instrument and feeling it hit the paper as your thoughts flow through your fingers and pour into words. So, letter writers around the world suggest you take advantage of National Handwriting Month from January 23 to February 23 and use a pen or a pencil to rekindle that creative feeling through a handwritten note, poem, letter or journal entry.

Handwriting allows us to be artists and individuals during a time when we often use computers, faxes and e-mail to communicate. Fonts are the same no matter what computer you use or how you use it. Fonts lack a personal touch. Handwriting can add intimacy to a letter and reveal details about the writer’s personality. Throughout history, handwritten documents have sparked love affairs, started wars, established peace, freed slaves, created movements and declared independence.

"Though computers and e-mail play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word - and if you can write in Kanji or Katakana, or Hiragana even better," said Commander Andy Reeves, the Executive Officer of U.S. Navy Information Operations Command Yokosuka Japan.

The purpose of National Handwriting Month is to alert the public to the importance of handwriting (after all, isn't that what hands are for?). According to people who really matter, National Handwriting Month is a chance for all of us to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting.