We live in a world without distance. Voices travel miles, messages are sent and received in milliseconds, a universe of knowledge and assurance exists right under our fingers. And while this web of constant communication has no doubt made our lives easier and given us plenty, what has been lost? What skills, what quiet wisdom, slips through the cracks in our fast-paced world?
To start off the new year, we are giving our brains a little break from the crushing commotion of our world. Back to a time when news, gossip, and words of fondness had to physically travel to reach us. A world where we had to wait and see.
This is not a crusade against the internet; you are, after all, reading these words on a blog on a website. Rather, it is an examination of patience, a consideration of the care that goes into sitting down and writing to someone you love, telling them something you want them to know. We lack that intimacy in text messages and email, we lose out on the perfume smell, tear-stained, smudged finger-print beauty of a good letter.
We are going to be looking at letters, and how they were used in creative and meaningful ways throughout history. From abolitionists using the postal system to spread powerful words across the South, to artists mailing masterpieces, to one famous couple that exchanged over 5,000 letters over the course of their 30-year marriage. So, take a beat, grab a pen and a sheet of paper. It could be for your friend whose face is waiting on the other side of your phone, it could be for yourself. Either way, we promise they’ll be happy to hear from you.
Welcome to the Art of the Letter!
