I have already written a blog post about "pen pals," which, among other things, extolls a book titled, I Will Always Write Back. Let me provide another reference for those who might be willing to consider entering into an epistolary correspondence with some other person whom (at least at the outset) you don't even know.
Starting up a "pen pal" relationship, of course, is the epistolary equivalent of one of my basic recommendations for the "good life," and for a "good politics." I have written frequently to comment on how important "Talking To Strangers" can be. I recommend that! And "Finding Some Friends." I recommend that, too!
In terms of forging a "pen pal" relationship, a recent edition of The Stanford Magazine is providing some good ideas, very much consistent with what is described in I Will Always Write Back.
Jennifer Reese, who is pictured above, and who is a writer based in Brooklyn, suggests some ways a person might get started. "Put It In Writing" is the title of the article which provides Reese's advice. The real "heroine" of Reese's article is a woman named Rachel Syme, a staff writer for The New Yorker. Among other things, Syme is the author of Syme's Letter Writer, which Amazon describes as follows:
Inspired by a famed correspondence handbook penned by a persnickety Victorian who had strong opinions on how to lick a stamp, cultural critic Rachel Syme has rewritten the staid letter-writing rules of yore for the letter writers of today. Syme insists you must stuff your envelopes with flat frivolities (and includes guides for how to press flowers and make a matchbook-mark), teaches you how to perfume a parcel, and encourages you to cultivate your own ritual around keeping up with your correspondence. Even if you have never sent a hand-written letter before, this book will make you want to begin – and will show you just how to get started.
Immerse yourself in this epistolary bric-a-brac celebrating the intimate (whimsical! expressive!) art of written correspondence, covering every part of the process from courting and keeping a pen pal, down to buying the best nibs for your refurbished vintage fountain pen. As you read fragments of letters and journals from storied literary figures—Zelda Fitzgerald, Willa Cather, Pat Parker, Vita Sackville-West, Djuna Barnes, Octavia Butler, to name a few—you can take note of how to write about the weather without being a total snooze, how to write a letter like a poet, and how to infuse your correspondence with gossip and glamorous mystique. You’ll learn about the magic of hotel stationery, the thrill of sending postcards, and the importance of choosing a signature paper that captures your essence.
After all, the words you write on paper and send to another person, are precious, offering comfort, shared sorrow, cathartic rage, hard-earned insight, refreshing strangeness, absurd silliness, understanding, delight, commiseration, and beauty—and often all of those things all mixed up at the same time. Letter-writing is meant to be enjoyed—so pick up a fountain pen and get writing!
For the same reasons that I urge us all to "talk to strangers," I do recommend that we "pick up a fountain pen and get writing!" That is what both Syme and Reese are urging. There is, after all, a lot to talk about (and to write about), and particularly about how we are to survive in our "political world."
In a way, I more or less consider my daily blog postings my own effort to forge a "pen pal" relationship with people I don't actually know. If you are reading this, and would like to hear from me every day, just click that next link!
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