"In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item."
So begins the mission statement of The Letter Writers Alliance, a group dedicated to preserving the "art" of letter writing.
They call it a "glorious cultural form."
There are many other groups who love mail and encourage letters -- Good Mail Day , Postcrossing, The Letter Exchange , and Viva Snail Mail, and The Missive Maven -- just to name a few.
What do you think? Do you write letters? Why or why not? Comment here. And take the poll on the upper right corner of the blog here.
12 comments:
Yes, absolutely! Granted, I am the aforementioned and kindly linked Missive Maven, but I've been writing letter steadily since I was a little girl (before the internet), and continue to do so. In fact, I have a challenge to myself to write 100 letters and postcards in 5 weeks! There is just nothing like a handwritten letter.
As a postmaster in an Amish community, I have a great many customers who keep in touch with family and friends by letter. Technology is catching up as I see more and more Amish with cellphones. But when I have a giggling girl come in to post a letter to her beau, I know that at least in this community, the "art" of letter writing is not dead.
I write letters all the time, though my letters tend to be shorter than they were years ago. That's only because the Internet has made it so easy to find so many other letter writers with whom to correspond.
I have a very extended family who still send a "Round Robin" letter. This envelope makes its way around the country with each family who recieves it adding their current news and updates, and then passing it on. When it gets to the original sender it starts all over again. It takes about a year to make the rounds, but it is so interesting to read.
I've been sending mail since I was 5 but fell out of the habit until recently when a coworker and I started writing each other. That was a year ago and that's encouraged me to write to others. I still get excited and want to open up the personal stuff right away.
I like to send people cards - thank you cards, sympathy cards, get well cards, etc. Often the card will be blank inside and I write a hand-written personal message inside. Even if the card has a pre-printed sentiment inside, I always include a personal note on the blank side of the card. Cards can be displayed in the home on a shelf or mantle for all to see!
Sadly, I don't write letters as much as I used to - most of my family & friends are on Facebook and my mother and I talk by phone daily. I do still send cards for birthdays and every holiday and include short letters in those. And I still like to send postcards when I travel. I have a box of all the letters I wrote to my parents when I was in the Army over 30 years ago. I was stationed in AL,GA SC & Germany and we exchanged letters weekly. My mother kept them all and passed them on to me so it's fun and interesting to have this insight into my past.
I am sending more and more cards with a quick note and not just for birthdays or anniversaries. My mother-in-law was the family correspondent that kept us all writing letters. Since her passing we share less with other family members via the mail though we keep in contact via the internet. I admit that I miss getting the hand written mail.
My husband and I "dated" as pen pals for a year and a half, so I fully appreciate the art of the written word. I still write letters to family and friends in other states.
I write letters because I feel it is a piece of me being delivered to someone. I may use the computer because I'm faster at typing than longhand but I still put it in an envelope, add a stamp, and mail it. When it arrives at the destination there may be a hint of my perfume, a clipped article or a funny sticker attached to the outside that says, this is from me to you, personally.
i believe the postal service itself should send more letters by mail then by internet
I live in a small community so I am fortunate to know all my customers. Whenever one of our high school athletes has an exceptional game, scores his first touchdown, or breaks a school record, I send a postcard. (Those ugly super heroe cards the postal service sold) I write something like "You must feel like superman"
scoring 30 points in last nights game." I usually attach the box scores and highlight their name. It is always much appreciated!
Post a Comment