Most of my friends and family are well aware of the fact that I am a letter writer. I love the flow of ink on a page, the words that form, the sensual nature of the craft. Sometimes I wonder if it is because I think the words themselves are sexy without any association to the hand that wrote them....
Really can there be any better unexpected feeling than the feeling of elation you find when you open your mailbox and find a postcard, a letter, or some tiny specially made package just for you with little treasures inside? My nature is very altruistic, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but that is just how it is. Letter writing is altruistic because it is sacrificial. You give up precious moments in your day to think, to write, to open up. Letter writing, in my case, feeds my altruistic nature for I love the feeling I get when I drop off a letter in the mailbox and dream of whomever finding it a few days later. I don't mind giving up time in my day for someone else and for this feeling.
My current new favorite book is "Yours Ever: People and Their Letters" by Thomas Mallon. This book explores the world of letter writing, from the obvious love letters, to pen pals, to other correspondences. It also compares the world of e-affairs (love letters via email....bluckkk) and letters for hire (people paying people to write letters for them.....maybe I should be in that business). I am loving this book because you can very easily put it down and pick it up again without losing any sense of what you were reading before. (http://tinyurl.com/29ssptr)
One dream of mine is that I will find someone who will send me letters. I have tasted this before, in past lives, in past relationships, with past friendships, but not as of lately. It may seem silly to most people, especially as we move further and further into a paperless society (which is crazy because we technically are using more paper than ever before). There is just something special about the art of letter writing, as what once existed with mix tapes. Unlike mix tapes, however, letter writing isn't dependent of any form of technology, so I can keep sending those letters knowing that they will be read.....
So in the meantime, I'll keep writing my letters and checking my mail for those little gems in return.
