When was the last time you wrote a letter? A pen to paper, stamp to envelope, personally addressed letter. Because, depending on the generation you grew up in, I’m willing to guess it was a long time ago, if not never.
Recently, I read The Lost Art of Letter Writing by Menna Van Praag, a magical realism novel about a young woman named Clara Cohen who owns a letter-writing shop. Though akin to a stationary shop that provides pen and paper to customers, Clara helps any visitors who wander in to turn their lives around or find some closure by writing a letter to someone important to them whether dead or alive. With a little bit of magic and some romance involved, it was the perfect story to remind me of the real, non-fantastical version of letter writing that contains just as much magic.
Drawing from my inspiration, referring to letter writing as a ‘lost art’ is common. But the practice of writing letters being lost implies that it only requires rediscovery, even though we have moved on from letter writing to faster means of communication like texts, emails, and even phone calls. On the whole, it feels like rather than being lost, letter writing is just dead because it can’t quite meet the demands of modern life. Letter writing is the last thing on our minds, and arguably only people who are quirky enough to be obsessed with the past or those who lived in it reach for letter writing as a consistent form of communication.
So, why do I, a twenty-something-year-old who had access to a phone at the age of eight, wish people wrote more letters?
Letters allow you to take your time.
It’s more difficult to say the wrong thing when you have to consider what you want to say before you write something down. Other forms of communication—even speaking—are far too immediate for getting your thoughts exactly right. Not only is it good for you as the writer, but it’s also good for the recipient, who gets to read what you think are the most interesting things you have to say, arranged in a logical way.
They’re more personal.
I always get carried away writing notes, cards, and letters to people and enjoy receiving them too. From what I’ve heard, most people appreciate the time and effort it takes to write them, and I agree. You can absolutely feel the attention in a hand-written letter, appreciate the possession of someone else’s handwriting, and the fact that the words they’ve written are for your eyes only, because it’s most likely the letter is one of one.
It’s a form of reflection as well as communication.
Even though you’re usually speaking to someone else when you write a letter, it also gives you time to reflect on the ups and downs of your life, to think about what’s has and will happen to you in a way that you may not usually do. It’s like journaling in that way. It forces you to consider yourself and the person you’re writing to in more depth, which can occasionally be scary, but it’s definitely worth it.
They become unforgettable.
Texts are forgotten, and emails are buried under promotions and receipts, but if you manage to keep them in a safe place, you’ll never lose a letter, and you can revisit the feeling you got from opening it whenever you want.
They become little relics of the time they were sent, something concrete that you can attach to a particular time in your life. You may forget that time as the years go by, but you’ll always be able to be reminded of what used to be important to you, to dip into the nostalgia of your past.
Though it seems obsolete—and kind of expensive—I highly recommend giving letter writing a try, even if it’s once. If you think it may not be for you, you can start by writing a letter to yourself in case you’re afraid you’ll get ridiculed by your recipient for attempting to communicate with them like you’re in a regency novel.
Otherwise, pick a close friend or relative whose face you’d like to put a smile on. I guarantee you they will more than likely be happy to find an unexpected, heartfelt letter amongst the junk in their post. I know I would.
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