A Literary Journal In Letters

Today, I stumbled across the website for "The Letters Page," described as a "literary journal in
letters."

The Letters Page is based at the University of Nottingham in England. The website explains that through the journal, the organizers are "exploring what letter writing means to people - and has meant since writing was invented - in their literary cultures and their personal lives.


"We’ll be publishing essays, memoir, fiction, travelogue, reportage, poetry, criticism, interviews… any creative form of writing, so long as it comes to us framed as a letter."

You can download the journal from the website. It's an interesting take on the letter writing that we all love so much. Take a look!

New Correspondence Website

Last month, Helen Rittersporn, a project management professional, launched a new website about letter writing and more. This week, AnchoredScraps.com is focusing on getting organized with your personal correspondence.

So far, she's blogged about getting your Christmas card list updated and about creating a list of people you'd like to write to regularly. She's written about keeping her letters in an old hat box, finding pen pals and watching a film called "The Letter Writer."

Check out Helen's website. I think you'll like it.

'Women of Letters' Event in NYC

What better way to celebrate National Women's History Month than by highlighting the international project Women of Letters.

I've been reading everything I can find on Women of Letters since first hearing about the project by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire of Australia. The two women have been hosting Women of Letters events in Australia since 2010 and recently brought it to the United States.

According to an article in Brooklyn Magazine, Hardy describes Women of Letters as "a celebration of women, words, and the lost art of letter writing."

Each month, a carefully selected panel of women read letters on a particular theme. The women are writers, but many are also actors, comedians, singers, etc. On March 13 at Joe's Pub in NYC, a panel of women, including actor/director Kathleen Turner, will read aloud "A letter to the night that changed me." Later in the month, the Australian event will be on the topic of "A letter to my happy accident."

Tickets to the New York events cost $20 each, and the Victoria, Australia, events cost AUD$23.50. All of the money goes to charity. In Australia, they've raised more than 500,000 for an animal rescue shelter, Edgar’s Mission, and the New York events will benefit the New York Women’s Foundation.

Additionally, some of the letters have been curated into books that are available via the Women of Letters website. 

In an article in Elle magazine last month, in response to a comment about whether or not letter writing is a dying art, Hardy said, "If anything, it's enjoying a revival. Nostalgia is definitely a big reason for this, and it's probably as much a rebellion against how digital our lives have become. Most of us spend all day in front of a screen, worrying to varying degrees about our privacy and how much content we're putting online. Sitting down with only a sheet of paper and a pen seems so delightfully simple and quite comforting in comparison."

I am so happy to discover that not only are there a couple of letter writing fans out there curating such events, but also that there are so many interested women that the shows are sold out every month. How lucky we lovers of letters are to have such proponents out there spreading the word. Oh, I do so wish I were going to be in New York this Friday!

Another reason to write more letters!

There's an article today on the Huffington Post about how writing a letter to an old friend can help reduce stress. According to the brief article, the HuffPost's "GPS for the Soul" section and meQuilibrium have teamed up to bring 30 days of stress reduction ideas to HuffPost readers.

meQuilibrium is a book and a website and a blog, maybe it's a movement or a philosphy, or maybe it's a business or an organization, I'm not really sure. Whatever it is, it's all about reducing stress.

And, one of the tips for improving your mood is to write a letter to an old friend. According to the story, "When you write an old friend, you strengthen your social connections. Letter-writing is like journaling with purpose -- in a way, it helps you strengthen your bonds. One study found that feeling disconnected is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!"

So, in the name of a more peaceful, less stressful, world, write a letter today!

A Call for Birthday Cards

A dad in McKinney, Texas, has requested birthday cards for his nonverbal son with autism. Already, many cards have poured in. If you'd like to help make the 8-year-old's birthday special, read the full story on the WFAA website for more details.

Maya Angelou stamp design revealed

The US Postal Service has revealed the design for the upcoming Maya Angelou stamp. It is scheduled to be released on April 7.

Snail Mail Cafe

Sarah Bentley has created the Snail Mail Cafe in Brooklyn, NY. Check out a news report on the concept:

Letter Exchange

 If you're looking for like-minded people to exchange snail mail with, take a look at the Lovely Letters project. Created by Esther and Jacob of Local Adventurer and co-hosted by Jordan of Beer Time With Wagner, Lovely Letters has been pairing up blogging penpals since last May.

Read more about Lovely Letters here and here.

 Happy Letter Writing!

'Victory or Death' Letter

In honor of Texas Independence Day, March 2, let's take another look at "The Travis Letter."

Written in 1836 by Commander William B. Travis from the Alamo, the letter requested help for the besieged Texans who were fighting the Mexican army. You can read more about The Travis Letter in "The Ultimate Texas Letter" post from 2013.

The letter is housed at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin and will be on display through Friday, March 6. If you can't make it to Austin, you can see the letter online at https://www.tsl.texas.gov/travis-letter.html.