The Poetry Journal: Tailpieces, Calligraphy Art

Dear Lovestar,

Let’s bring tailpieces back!

What is a tailpiece? It’s the decorative design under a poem (or any literature). Sometimes they are very fancy and complex, sometimes they’re very cute, sometimes they look ornate like a baroque church.

As a lover of literature and classic literature, tailpieces were on every book I remember. They made a really big impression on me, and since then, I always do a simple tailpiece when I write by hand.

I use the tailpiece as a sign that the poem (or any other handwriting) is a finished piece. If I do a poem without a tailpiece, it means it’s incomplete, or I want to work on it more.

Tailpieces on my poetry journal

My tailpieces compliment my cursive, and I use the same flourishes. My tailpiece themes are swirls, hearts, dots, and flowers. I like to design one on the spot and don’t like to copy them. I like unique ones.

Digital tailpieces

I realized that since tailpieces are such a big part of my literary experience, I should use them in my blogging, ebooks, and articles, too. I am going to create a library of them. These digital ones I just created on the Sketchbook app.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNofKyqV/

Do you still see tailpieces in books?

With love and light,

Eve