If Felicia Sullivan has anything to do with it, writing letters will come back into fashion. This girl shares my affection for stationary (and as a recipient to several notes, I can attest to her fine taste) and she’s passionate about helping others connect via pen:
well, my carpal-tunnel suffering, paper-frightened friends — i’m here to assuage your woes and hopefully making some connections in the process. because of my newfound obsession with samara o’shea’s new book, for the love of letters, and letter-writing in general, i’m in a frightful letter-writing/posting spree and i want you involved. LOOK OUT KIDS, i’m armed with a pink pen and superhero stamps and i’m ready to rumble.what does that mean for you unsuspecting, two-finger typing people? i’m rejuvenating the pen-pal.
So if like me and miss having real letters, of taking time to write, of waiting in suspense for something to come back, of scouting out lovely paper, then rush over to Felicia’s site. But I’d add one thing: a lot of people get so gung ho in the beginning of things like these and then let it fall to the way side. It can become another “to do” or one less thing of importance to carry out. If that happens to you then I’d really encourage you to think twice before saying yes. I say commit fully or just don’t. There’s nothing worse than waiting for a letter that’ll never come because someone decided they were too tired to write you a note. That’s not the intention of the project. The intention is to really get people to connect. You ready?
By the way, I'm alex (
at 3:24 am
Thanks for posting about this! I loved having a penpal as a kid and can’t wait for one now. I just heard from someone in New Zealand…we’re going to start writing soon!
Thanks!!
at 9:16 am
I don’t normally post comments, but letter writing is one topic I am passionate about.
I have a pen pal. Mary and I started writing when she was 12 and I was 11. We both adore the art of handwritten correspondence and while all the other pen pals we had back when we were young eventually drifted away (some sooner than others), we have continued to write.
In 1997, when I was an exchange student in the USA, my host mother arranged for Mary and I to meet. Our meeting cemented our friendship.
In late 2004 Mary told me that she would be getting married in the middle of the following year. When I told her I would fly out from Australia to come to the wedding, she invited me to be one of her bridesmaids. Seeing her again, though only for a couple of days, and being a part of her wedding was so special to me.
I’m now 28. Life is busy, and I admit our correspondence is less frequent than it once was, but we do still write handwritten letters and cards.
Letters found me one of my dearest friends.
I have so enjoyed these recent posts from Alex and Felicia in relation to letter writing – it has reminded me of how truly wonderful my friendship-through-letters with Mary is, and of all the other wonderful correspondence which has formed part of the pages of my life over the years.
It is a wonderful thing to be a letter writer. Thank you for reminding me.
xox, Rachel
PS: Sorry this comment is so long!
at 8:38 pm
if you are one of those people who can take the time to send a simple thank you note, or holiday card… you are a-ok in my book…
at 11:19 pm
Yes!
at 1:45 am
I’ve never stopped writing letters and in a journal.
When I was in grade school, we wrote our names and addresses on index cards and tied them to balloons bursting with helium. We let them go together in a flurry of color and waited. Two weeks later, I received my first letter from a girl a bit older than me a state away.
We wrote letters for several years and our parents even arranged for our families to spend a day together at a local historical park and museum.
To this day, I’ll never forget the experience and excitement of waiting for those letters.
at 6:39 am
I remember buying beautiful scented stationery when I was a teenager wishing I had someone beside my grandparents to send a letter to. I never managed to find a pen pal although I tried. There is just something mysterious and satisfying about receiving a letter by mail, especially if it comes from a foreign country. In this day of emails and blogs, a letter has become a rare thing.
at 3:31 pm
This is several days late, but after reading through this post I have to respond. I am completely in agreement with you, yet I haven’t given up the Christmas cards yet. I sure don’t write as many as I used to, but it is so depressing to get so few in return. I sometimes think that if I wouldn’t send any I wouldn’t get any – that people just respond when they get one. I have a few die-hard friends who send thank you cards and holidays cards and I always find it a treat. I, too, am big on thank you cards and make the kids write theirs out immediately after parties and holidays. I love beautiful stationery and think it is definately worth a little extra expense. I am also saddened to see that when I posted some beautiful Amy Butler stationery in my store no one, and I mean NO ONE has been buying any. Times change, but the sad thing is that things used to change gradually. Now the times seem to be flying by and changing so fast leaving the past in oblivion with regard to certain elements. Very sad indeed.