Art of Letters, Post #1

Written on June 8, 2008

Letters. That's what this is going to be about, from now and for the year to come. 

I really think letters - handwritten or typed, but sent through the postal service - are a lost art form. This romantic style of communication harkens back to the pre-e-mail period. (There's the Paleolithic Era, the Pleistocene Era, B.C, A.D, and then Pre-E.) Pre-E is not so long ago, folks. That's when we could write and people understood the emotion.

I recognize some overlap in the periods - between Peleolithic and B.C, Pleistocene and B.C., between A.D. and Pre-E. I forgot to mention the Plasticine Era, in which we are right now. (See Poland Spring and Evian for starters. It goes on from there and just ends up in a landfill, but that's for another day.)

Back to letters - this past week I've embarked on an exercise, all inspired by letters. The trajectory of how I got here is not quite so interesting, but the process is, and I recommend it. I'm writing on e letter a day for an entire year. Granted I'm 5 days into this project (just 360 to go!) but here's what I've noted thus far:

Rewards:

My mind keeps MOVING. It's fun to get the juices flowing daily like that. 

You remember how to write. Physically. 

You get to use up all those little address stickers that come in the mail. Whoda thunk?

You're communicating with people you love, and some others*.

Other notables - 

I thought I'd spend a truckload on supplies, but I've calculated that I'll spend approximately $152 on stamps for the year. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Paper and envelopes, let's just say another $50 (I'm into stationary, so I'm upping the price of regular paper here.) Besides, you have to keep it exciting and inspiring if you're going to do this every day. I think between paper bags I find on airplanes, plain ol' white printer paper, ripped out notebook paper and nicey-nice paper that I find in overpriced stores that I love, $50 should about cover it. 

Ways to even out your project costs, should this plague you:

1. Have 76 less store bought coffees this year. Make 'em at home.

2. Starve yourself for a week. You'll save money AND this is bound to make your letters more interesting. 

3. Write over text on junk mail sent to your home - a.k.a. recycling.

4. Seduce your mail carrier for some 'free delivery'

5. Try selling your letters. Kick up a table on the street, next to a mailbox - and lay them out with a sign saying 'BEST LETTERS EVER. YOU WANT ONE.' Then explain that each one is unique and amazing. The buyer 'buys' one of your letters for the price of a stamp, piece of paper and envelope (50 cents, maybe?) and you fill out their address in front of them, stamp it and drop it into the mailbox beside you. People love getting letters, people! This could work. 

I have a lot more I can say about this plan, the inception of the letter-writing campaign in my heart, it's inspiration, how it ties in personally so much right now, but I hesitate to blather it all at once. I plan to blog about this process a few times a month. I'm still in the pregnant phase, where those to whom I wrote the first ones might just be receiving them about now. I imagine I'll get some back, but who knows? I hadn't thought about that so much until recently. You can draw all kinds of statistics around the project. "Most likely to write back were 20-somethings with small dogs." Or "Least likely to acknowledge the communique at all were psychics." The world is wide open.

Join me on the expedition if you want and you can start anytime. When I finish on June 5, 2009, you'll still be going, which is fabulous; like a round - a reverberation of the personal letter, resounding throughout the land. 

* people you don't love, or entities, such as corporations or businesses, notably airlines.