A Handwritten Art

Calling all creative anachronists! And by that I mean letter-writers.

Those of us who have always loved putting pen to paper and seeing what comes out. You know who you are. The handwritten art is not dead, after all.



There is something special about the kind of communication that happens in a personal letter. It's a little bit small-talky but a little bit soul-baring as well.

I, for one, have always felt most comfortable when addressing someone in writing; as a kid, I used to start my journal entries with Dear -- (I used a name of a made-up friend) and then sign my name at the end.

Then, relationships! I preferred to exchange notes with people I liked, rather than actuallly talk to them. Those silly folded-up notes (slipped secretly into a book or hurriedly handed-off between classes) contained the very breath in my lungs and the blood in my heart.

Everything happened between one letter and the next.

I was a big fan of the 'conversation letter' for a while. Each person writes a line and then hands it over. It's like talking, but weird, crazy, and silent. You need to be in close proximity to the person you're writing to.

When I moved far away from my old friends, we did the 'letter journal' in which one person wrote an entry into a nice bound journal and then posted it off to the other person, who would read the entry and then add their own and mail it back. It's great as long as you're both willing to shell out on postage.

I did the cousin-correspondence for years. And the foreign pen pals in elementary school. I still have the colorful stamps.



Long-distance relationships were just an excuse to write more letters!

If any of this resonates with you, you might be interested in Savidge Reads' current penpal drive: Penpals of Plots and Prose.

Bookish types around the world will be paired with like-minded letter-writers and the fun will begin! Drop Simon an email if you're interested in taking part.

I'm in, of course, and a big thank you to Simon for having such a great idea.