A Postal Weekend in San Francisco
Pamela, owner of the blog “CappuccinoandArtJournal“, has written a picture filled blog about a “letter writing social” taking place in her fine city as hosted by Letter Writers Alliance. (July 2011)
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The Envelope Project
The Envelope Project is collecting envelopes (decorated and plain) and displaying each envelope and its contents in the store window at Meet Me at Mike’s (Melbourne, Australia). The contest ended on August 2, 2010, but it’s fun to look at their pictures and posts and get inspired by all of the creativity.
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Good Mail Day
Good Mail Day has made a Call for Scribblers, Mail Artists and Pen Friends on their May 28, 2010 blog post. If you’re looking for a one time swap or a regular trading pal, this might be the place for you! Check it out!
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Catherine Golden wrote this article on Letter Writing Manuals from the Victorian Era. The article has a few pictures and a great list of famous letter writers sch as Jane Austin and Lewis Carroll.
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Letter Writing Today
Thanks for visiting Letters & Journals- the site that celebrates letter writing in all of its wondrous forms!
People have been saying that letter writing is dead- a lost art. And they’ve been proclaiming this for almost 100 years! In her book, ‘The Lost Art’ Dorothy Van Doren writes in 1929:
“It is often said that the days of the great letter writers are over. The typewriter has done away with the pen; a machine age, which was to have provided leisure, demands more hours in service to it than did the time of hand crafts and long working days. The motion picture, the radio, the motor car, the washing machine are jealous masters. We telegraph now instead of writing letters, and when we neglect to telegraph there is always the long distance telephone.”
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Love Letter Squad
Janet Gallin and Tresa Eyres have teamed up to form the Love Letter Squad. They host a weekly radio show in San Francisco and help callers “write letters that will become treasures that will be kept forever.” In addition to the radio show, they also host workshops and audio seminars, help individuals and offer assistance through their website and blog. Their motto is “Write a Letter, Change a Life.”
Here are a couple newspaper articles about them. SF Gate and SF Examiner.
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Dear Letter Writer
“Blogging, texting and emailing all have their place, but the written word still has a special relationship with pen and paper.” This article in the UK’s Guardian was published in October 2009 and it rings a chord with those of us who enjoy our letter writing hobby.
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Spirit of Letters
By Kathleen Cleberg (August 2010)
Don’t bother looking, there are no beautiful paintings of people squinting at computer screens or mobile phones. But people reading or writing letters have inspired masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Renoir for centuries.
In 1961, The Hallmark Card Company published a treasury of these paintings in a book called “The Spirit of the Letter in Painting.” Along with the 30 gorgeous color plates, there is in-depth text on art and social history of the time by Jean Leymarie.
Many of the paintings are familiar masterpieces, but when they were painted they reflected a time of change. Each of the paintings present a letter at the center of the theme. Before this time, letters were scholarly or instructive and only appeared in paintings as symbols or accessories.
Love Letter, Jan Vermeer
By the 17th Century, letters were filled with personal information and even the humblest home had a writing desk and quill pens. The paintings by Rembrandt and his peers show a growing fascination with the emotions surrounding letters.
The wistfulness, longing and quiet pleasure of a young woman reading a love letter was a favorite theme, and with good reason. They were scenes of intimacy, beauty and charm and enhanced by gentle shadows and soft light.
Girl in Blue Reading a Letter, Jan Vermeer
The spirit of the letter reflected in these paintings was found in society life and drawing room conversations. It was a privileged world where letters were sent with bouquets of flowers and filled with terms of affection. Where people had the time to receive letters in the spirit in which they were sent. This luxurious life didn’t last, but paintings reflecting the indulgent atmosphere of the time live on.
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