Thread: When was the last time you wrote a REAL letter?

Fellow Chaps:

Today I decided to go ahead and do it. I broke the unwritten law that claims that, because of email, SMS, MSN, Skype, the telephone, the cell phone and so many other stuff that help you comunicate, letter writing is out of fashion and legaly dead... But I think otherwise. I believe that a letter is the second best way to comunicate with someone, the first being a face to face conversarion. Sure, email is practical and fast. And I use it a lot. In fact, I use it so much that it is easier to reach me by email than on my phone... That, I fool you not, is a fact.

But the letter is so much nicer. It is a physical thing. It's paper, ink, and time that you receive when the postman delivers a letter. The person who wrote to you spent time, dedication and cerebral energies to write to you.

It's a thing of beaty, the letter... I cannot remember the last letter I received in the mail. But I remember the last one I wrote (before today): it was to my girlfriend when I was in Germany attending a Summer composition course with the late Karlheinz Stockhausen (a composer).

So today was, indeed, the day. I forgot all about fancy letter paper and nice fragrant envelopes... nevermind that. That is just flowers and ribbons. The main event is inside: the letter itself. The paper is important, but the most important thing is what you wrote on it and the fact that you wrote it. In the late afternoon, after thinking that I must get myself some fancy paper I said "ná!", picked up my pen and some plain white paper and started writing until I fainted with writer's cramp! I wrote (long...) letters to my Girlfriend (who happens to live in the flat above mine...), to three of my best friends (one of them is my flat mate), to my Brother and to my Mother. Then I ran out of envelopes and stamps... It felt amazingly good.

Letter writing is becoming a lost art, unfortunately. And by loosing this art we will loose much more than that. We risk loosing many social behaviours, we risk loosing the hability to address someone with natural poise, we risk loosing the hability to comunicate in an elegant way. Furthermore we will loose the possibility to comunicate without interruptions and to be heard and understood in a complete way. You see, Saint Paul wrote letters (a lot, I reckon...) to the Corinthians. You never heard the priest say "Email of Saint Paul to the Corinthians!", now did you?! If you have, PM me and request my address so you can send me a capsule of cianide, please...

Now, when was the last time you took the time off your busy schedule and wrote a letter, a propper letter?

I urge everybody to do so. We must resurect the art of letter writing as we are resurecting the art of shaving with a straight razor... because email is a nice new cartridge on a Mach 3 and a letter is a stunning little Shumate 5/8 spike point with faux-tortoise scales.

I just sent one out today!
I actually send a fair number each week, and I can't explain how delighted I am to see you voice a lot of my thoughts so eloquently!

Here, good sir, is to our art of text!

A few years ago my best friend went inside for a serious transgression. Serious and shameful enough for him to cut out everything from his old life, including me, when he came out. Our final letters to each other were long and hand written. Sometimes, there's no other way than to hand write a letter.

I write letters infrequently, but I do do it. Usually not by hand, unfortunately, because my handwriting is HORRENDOUS, except in Japanese. For some reason, my Japanese handwriting is much more legible than my English...maybe because I'm much more careful?

I personally feel that letters are the number one most effective way to communicate, especially with companies. Conversations can actually be a bit more difficult, because of human tendencies to get all emotional.

Oh frequently I do. Much too frequently actually.
I realize that my hand writing suffered quite a bit, since I just type usually.
That does not make them very pretty. But for certain people a letter is just the appropriate thing.

Love your comparison between a mach3 cartridge and a razor.
You're so right.

Last time I wrote someone a letter was in january, when I sent a surprise to a good friend. For special occasions, I prefer handwriting, even though my handwriting is quite bad.
I also write letters for my wife from time to time, to tell her that I love her.

Can't even remember the last time I put pen to paper for a letter. I do still send real cards tho. I hate to get online cards and hence never send them. I seems so ............ thoughtless. I mean if you don't have the time to go the the card store and write your own message what's the use?

Originally Posted by fpessanha

Now, when was the last time you took the time off your busy schedule and wrote a letter, a propper letter?

Yesterday. I always write letters by hand, on expensive paper, in cursive, with a fountain pen. And I always seal the letter with wax and my family seal. And I always address the envelope with my best calligraphy, with a stub ground fountain pen. That's just how I am.

It's nice to see that a lot of people still do write letters. I guess this isn't a fading habit... but then again, this isn't a "normal" comunity either...

I think a letter should be propperly written and everything should reflect the care and attention you dedicate to the one you are writing to. However, one should never over-do things and serioulsy avoid kitsch attitudes. Please, don't interpret this as criticism. The quality of the paper should be good, the letter should be, idealy, written with a fountain pen and the caligraphy should be quite careful. But the letter writing person should put his real self in the process. If your day-to-day caligraphy is cursive, then fine... but if it's not, I think it brings out a note of kitsh, of false impressions... If you are a "cheap bastard" and write a letter on silk, again, something feels out of place. At least to me. I do admire the work one puts into doing cursive and sealing the envelope with wax. But it isn't for me. A letter shoulb be useful, though it should also be a thing of beauty because of the gesture itself. However, if you add the aesthetic experience, more power to you.

The point of all this is: never let the lack of nice expensive paper, pretty envelopes and other nice office supplies keep you from writing a letter to those you love, to those you hate or whoever.

Today I am becoming more and more unafectionate to technology. I like the internet, I like phones and email. But we are all becoming far too dependent of these things to comunicate with our own people. I imagine a lot of people I know never having written a letter because the idea never crossed their minds. I also imagine them forgeting ideas and never doing some things because they do not have a journal or a notebook in which to note what you thought... They do, however, have a PDA or something of the like... but taking a note on it, writing something or reading some previously written notes is, I think, not in their plans. The technological apparatus will never - to me, at least - have the appeal of something like a pen and a sheet of paper in my journal. Because these things are real, are concrete. Computers and PDA are real as well, but everything is made of wires and electronic gimmicks. If you run out of power... bye bye PDA. But paper, pens and the eventual candle will never let you down!

You might rather enjoy (along with Freud, Thoreau, Rousseau) the works of Neil Postman- specifically "Technopoly" or "Amusing Ourselves to Death".

And check out by blog (in the hyperlink in my signature) because I've been focusing on technology, the way it changes us, and sentiments like you've been sharing here.

In fact, would you mind if I quoted you and made this an example for a new post?