(non-breaking space) | missing the modern letter

missing the modern letter

It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since I signed up for the Modern Letter Project. Sadly, it’s almost two years since the administrators of the project folded their tent. I was a prolific letter writer in my youth, so the year-plus I spent writing to folks through the project was a real kick for me.

I miss writing letters the way I used to before I got old and businesslike in my ways. And I suspect the lack of interpersonal handwriting in my life was a factor in the birth of my handwritten haiku habit.

There are other efforts apparently, like the Letter Writers Alliance, which I’d consider to sate my thirst for more letter-writing. But I wish I had more friends and acquaintances with whom to exchange old-fashioned correspondence (most of the friends I have aren’t prone to sending actual letters).

Does anyone else ever get the urge to scribble a note to an actual person?

image: pareeerica

Comments

by howard

February 4th, 2010

Posted in scrawl

Tagged with handwriting, modern letter project, snail mail, written communication

apreziosi

I had pen pals when I was a kid. Comic books and magazines used to have addresses of places where I could write to find other like-minded kids. None of the relationships lasted very long, though.
It's probably why I gravitated to e-mail as an adult. I love a lively e-mail exchange. I like the immediacy of it and the editing process that I can't have with a written letter. Of course, in those days we were limited to writing letters ro making phone calls.

I just bought a nice set of note cards at the National Gallery last month, still waiting for their first "lucky" recipient. Sadly, I don't know too many addresses - only the e-mail kind. I think the loss of the handwritten note is similar to the loss of the phone call that has been replaced by the text message. I don't know too many phone numbers either, and I used to be able to rattle bunches of them off. The modern convenience of the cell phone and the electronic address book has rendered my memory useless.

I'm not sure that my lost letter writing skills are necessarily a bad thing. I keep in touch with as many people as I used to, just in a different form. It is impersonal though. There is a charm to handwriting, and mine is quite nice and readable. Shame.
I used to write my college papers out longhand and edit them on the computer, so I do remember how to use a pen. :)

Any time an alliance has to be formed in order to resurrect an old habit, it's safe to figure that it has become another casualty of modern society, like using the stairs or reading a newspaper.

howard

for the record, i'm still a fan of stairs and several forms of dead
tree media ;)

i also had a couple folks you could have called "pen pals" in high
school -- the most notable of which was a girl in Belfast (where my
grandma's family was from). i rather enjoyed the whole thing.

btw, i'd gladly surrender a mailing address if it nets me one of those cards...

apreziosi

I figured you for a stairs and newspaper guy! :-) It's likely that the snow will keep me from my Saturday morning read and attempt at the crossword. My delivery guy is a little soft. Luckily, a convenience store is conveniently a block away!
Leave your address in a Facebook reply or e-mail and I'll fashion-up a nice card for ya!

howard

cool!

PJ

I used to love writing letters, too, but it's just another one of those treasures lost in the hunt for efficiency. At least I have online resources like your site to help with the withdrawal symptoms :)