Bellairs was left-handed and held his pen or pencil with the thumb and all four fingers wrapped around it in “a torturous manner,” recalls Myers, who goes on to say John’s handwriting was “atrocious.”
Keturah Haab, a classmate of John’s at Marshall High School, remembers their eleventh grade history teacher, Henry Cunningham, saying to John, "You must learn to type, because no one will ever be able to read your writing." And John did learn to type: most of his work – be it in college assignments or writing his books – was completed on the same portable typewriter that he used throughout his life.
Myers says that John wrote him during his time in the Navy. “For some reason he had written his letter out by hand instead of typing. The guy next to me glanced over my shoulder and asked, 'Let me guess, six years old?' I had the pleasure of replying, 'Nope. A doctoral candidate in English at the University of Chicago!' Just one more aspect of his quirky character!"
It’s possible John was somewhat sensitive to comments about his less-than-perfect handwriting, as Professor Childermass confesses he hates people that comment on how bad his handwriting is [The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, 8].
Samples of John's handwriting as seen in book dedications, letters, and autographs are included within our correspondence section.
