Letter Project: update 23 September 2009
My offer to write letters “Remember when people wrote letters?” has started to bear fruit. Not a LOT of fruit, mind you. I’ve written and mailed two letters so far, with five more names on my “letters to write” list.
In this experiment, a letter is not personal, it is not written to the person. These letters are each a basket of thoughts shared with the recipient.
Using a typewriter for letter writing slows the pace of my writing, making me think more and write less. And there is no re-writing. With the manual typewriter (an Underwood portable) I do use correcting fluid — Wite-Out(tm) — to cover up small mistakes.
My first letter to Stave Prodromou did not use correcting fluid. That was a misguided attempt to demonstrate transparency and authenticity. It was just dumb. I am not a world-class typist, so that letter was too messy for my taste. I’ve now adopted “modern” correcting fluid technology.
My offer (here) stands. Until I am overwhelmed by demand, just send me an email with your postal address and I’ll add your name to the list.
If you act IMMEDIATELY, you might become number eight (8) to receive a letter written sans electrons. Then again, you might save yourself the effort of someday having to get the letter appraised, then selling it for gazillions of dollars on eBay.
That sounds like a lot of trouble to me. Probably best you forget the whole thing.