Letter Writing Shouldn't Become a Lost Art

Letter Writing Shouldn't Become a Lost Art

Do you write letters?

There’s something a little mysterious and romantic about post men and women. Theirs is one of the only jobs that I can think of that has such a visible presence. They also are one of the only jobs that requires such an obvious—and retro—get-up: the little blue shorts, the high white socks, the light-blue, pin-striped button-down. They also still drive that cute little vehicle. My grandpa was a postman who retired in the late ‘80’s, and the pictures I’ve seen of him on his route look identical to those of post men and women of today.

I think this timelessness is what’s so appealing about the United States Postal Service. Our methods of communications have changed so drastically in even the last twenty years, so the postal service is simultaneously a relic of a slower time, and a waning necessity.

Letters, too, are more special than ordinary email communication. They’ve taken on a kind of specialized nostalgia that they couldn’t have had when they were the only means of communication. Emails are a dime a dozen (or hundreds of dimes a dozen, depending on the importance of your jobs), but the letter—the handwritten correspondence—is more time-consuming, more specialized. Those things may not have meant much when my grandfather delivered letters, but they mean something now.

I hope that letter writing comes back some day, much like knitting and baking pies and growing gardens. It isn’t necessary in this world of modernity and convenience, but it is nicer and more personal. In a way, it’s good for the soul.

I try to write letters as much as I can, and, while I don’t think it’s a lost art, per say, I certainly don’t know how to do it. I usually follow the model of my grandma and write about my day, or, if I’m writing a thank you note, tell the letter's recipient over and over again how wonderful they are. It’s sort of strange because I consider myself something of a writer, but I can never think of anything poetic to write to my friends or family.

People skilled at letter writing—or, not too long ago, everyone—must have learned to store information, and pick out the nuggets that were the most beautiful. They must have been able to remember the exact sentiment that they thought about another person until they had the leisure to write it down. Documentation of a love affair, a friendship, the relationship between family and friends must have been beautiful to see and save.

Email isn’t cutting it.