I like writing letters. This revelation evokes the same emotional reactions as if I announced I enjoy listening to the wireless. Letter writing is considered a quaint past time from an era long past.
Writing letters by long hand makes me feel I am in league with the letter writers of history. We know so much about famous and ‘day to day’ people from their letters. Letters were detailed, articulate, and often works of art viz. beautiful handwriting. Penmanship was once considered a sign of good character.
I use stationary with personalized initials on the letterhead. The envelopes are lined. The return address is printed on the flap. Out of whimsy, I use my rubber stamps. When I feel especially giddy I use sealing wax.
I have saved letters all my life. I have every letter from my pen-pal of 25 years. There are letters from relatives long deceased. Reading the letters written by my great Aunt Ruth evokes memories far clearer than looking at her photograph. The faded smell of her stationary takes me back to her.
My letter collections are tied in bundles by string or rubber bands. They are on of my greatest treasure.
I hope the letters I’ve written over the decades are in similar boxes, saved for reading decades from now. Letter writing makes me feel I am creating something of myself that will continue on.
I consider letters as a gift from the soul. I try to assure the receivers they are in no way obliged to return a letter with a letter of their own. (The usual emotional response to a received letter is fear; a sense of obligation to write one back in response; as well it should!)
Nowadays-letters are nasty business type letters, or ‘form’ letters, either asking for money or presenting problems via certified mail. I used to look forward to the post. Now it merely brings junk, bills, and other things I don’t want.
Alas, I have not written a letter in a long while. I too am guilty of email. It is easier after a long day to send off a hasty short email. My stationary sits unused. I can’t remember the cost of a stamp. Even the manufacturer of my stationary has gone out of business – the irony! The stationary shop at the mall is now a computer store.
I don’t think a computer file of saved email will ever replace a cardboard box of hand written letters from Aunt Ruth.
18 comments
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May 6, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Pink
want my address?
what a lovely treasure chest you have
xx
pinks
May 6, 2008 at 11:08 pm
citywoof
I’m a letter-saver too. I have many from my Grandmother, ex-boyfriends, and especially from my mother. I know one day it will mean a lot to me to be able to look at her lovely handwriting and sweet words.
May 7, 2008 at 3:46 am
BentonQuest
My family was of the “working class.” Neither of my parents went to high school. Letters were not a big thing for us. I guess I have followed that tradition. I appreciate letters, I just am not a good letter writer.
May 7, 2008 at 3:57 am
DougT
This strikes me as very much in character for you. Your blog often has a quality reminiscent of letter writing to it. I liked your comments about your Aunt Ruth. I still enjoy the fact that I have a bunch of hand-written recipes from my mom. When I cook with them, I feel a real sense of connection to her, even though she’s been gone nearly 10 years. I like seeing her handwriting, knowing that she wrote them out for me, and remembering learning to cook from her.
May 7, 2008 at 4:02 am
Nick
Alas, the personal nature of things past like letter writing are of a bygone era. It is a loss. I can still see in my memory my grandmother’s somewhat unusual and almost unreadable penmanship. Mom was the only one in the house who could decipher it without some real effort. My penmanship is horrid as well. And sadly kids today aren’t required to learn good penmanship — about all they are required to know in “cursive” is how to write their name. How sad. Thank you for reminding us of what we have nearly lost.
May 7, 2008 at 4:25 am
Lemuel
I have letters that my best friend in high school wrote to me while we were in college and afterwards. He wrote such classic letters full of insight.
May 7, 2008 at 4:47 am
Doug
I, too, have a stack of letters from my past. I recently found them and paged through a few. I agree, email doesn’t have the same quality as a letter. Perhaps soon we’ll transition to voice or video letters, and they’ll regain some of their personal quality we treasure.
May 7, 2008 at 7:58 am
cameron
I used to be quite a prolific letter-writer “back in the day”.
I’m actually gearing up to write a good old-fashioned letter this very week! - to someone who specifically requested a snail-mail letter. I’ll go the extra mile and subject him to my handwriting!
If you email me your snail-mail address I will write to you! At least a postcard (which I’ve got sitting in front of me RIGHT NOW!)
May 7, 2008 at 8:29 am
"joe"
I love fine paper, good fountain pens, real engraving, etc. etc. But I hate to actually “write”. Actually wrtiting is very slow for me, and it doesn’t take long till my hand hurts (left hand, that is).
And, I tend to write and edit, and all those scratches and cross-outs get distracting. But I love the idea! or should I say, the ideal.
Actually, I am glad to be able to type. But part of my misses my 1945 war-surplus Royal typewriter (that weighed as much as my car) that got me through college and grad school. Those were the days!
May 7, 2008 at 9:38 am
Maddog
I too love getting letters and was one of the few people I know who would actually write back. I also have every letter that was written to me. Most of them are stored in my room in my mother’s house, after too many years of carting them around. I have not looked at them in years. I think when I am home in July I will have to get them out and have a read.
May 7, 2008 at 10:39 am
Kris
I do the same thing as well. When I left the Philippines, and moved to the US, I’ve saved every letters I’ve gotten since then. I have a boxful of ‘em and when I get in the mood, I’d sit down and go through and read them. I cry sometimes when I do so, since I can sense the love in those letters. Knowing someone took the time to sit down and pour out their thoughts. I need to get back to writing again. E-mail doesn’t carry the same affect but it’s what almost everyone uses nowadays, so no getting around it. Another lovely post!
May 7, 2008 at 3:46 pm
cedrorum
I agree with you on letters. My penmanship sucks, so I’ve never been good at writing them in longhand. I’ve recently kept in touch with my Grandparents through writing letters, albeit written in Word. I’ve saved some letters from a guy I corresponded to in the 1st Gulf War. Those will be cool to show my boys when they get older. I’ve also got some letters from a friend in Romania when they were still under Communist rule.
May 7, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Bunny Lynn
Darlin’ the only “letters” I ever get are bills from the gas company!
Huggs, etc…
May 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Joseph
I, too, enjoy letter writing. I stock up on good stationery and usually use my fountain pen. I spent a good part of the afternoon today writing letters to include in Mother’s Day cards for my aunts. I hate receiving a card with just a signature on it. I always write at least a short note to include in any card I send. I wish I had the foresight you have to have saved letters I have received. Unfortunately letter writing is becoming a lost art.
May 7, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Raybob
I love writing and receiving letters. One foolish day in college I decided that I didn’t need to keep the letters from my parents and paternal grandmother (just passed last Oct). Oh, the folly! I’d give anything to have them back now. After that one incident of madness, I’ve kept all the others. And I use a fountain pen. Which I adore.
Once lived in a farm house from the 1890’s. When cleaning out some kitchen drawers we found letters from a WWII soldier, writing home, that had fallen between the drawers. Amazing.
May 10, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Steven
My gosh, you stop writing for a while and you put a manufacturer and retailer out of business!
I love writing letters despite the fact that this southpaw still gets ink all over his hand. After years of penmanship classes, I still don’t write like most lefties where their hand looks like it’s in pain because of how it’s positioned so as to avoid smearing the ink. I also press VERY hard when I write where too much ink is dispensed.
May 16, 2008 at 7:26 pm
BID
I don’t get the mail for days at a time, it’s depressing. There are never any good letters so why bother?
I have horrible handwriting, what does that say about me?
Good post, so very true.
May 19, 2008 at 11:37 am
William
I’m charmed by your post and by the number of people, including my friend Raybob, who say they like letters. I find, however, that most people can barely hit reply on an computer key, much less find the paper, the stamp, the pen and the energy to write a letter.