Patra-Mitra

Even though the letter writing revolution is a big turnaround from the tele, cellular, and internet mediums we are so used to now, the World Wide Web has made it so much simpler to find like-minded people around the world engaged in similar activities, sometimes on a greater and more fascinating level.

Here are some treasures from the around the world, relating to the world of letters!

1. Letters of Note
   This is an amazing site filled with scans of letters the famous ‘uns wrote to each other. Their archive is HUGE, with categories based on type of correspondence, date, theme, senders/receivers to writing method (handwritten/typewritten) that makes for an easy and interesting read. It has letters ranging from Gandhi urging Hitler to stop WW2 to Johnny Cash writing a sweet love note to his wife and fellow singer, June. Letters of Note is indeed a great place to spend those rainy, lonely afternoons…
2. 300 love letters
   300 love letters is a personal project started by an Asia Wong, who, in the span of 1 year, wrote 300+ love letters to people – lovers and ex-lovers, dream boyfriends, friends, family, people she hated and even strangers. It is a lovely collection of notes embodying the simple idea that love connects us to each other, no matter who we are, how we are.
3. Rivertrout
   Rivertrout is a library of ‘literary’ letters; letter that are beautifully worded and express powerful ideas, emotions and images. Divided into Letters of Reason, Letters of Hope and Letters of Passion, it is a collection of people exploring letter-writing as an art more than a medium of communication.
4. The Epistolary Project
   ‘Epistlolary’ means pertaining to a letter or letter writing. The Epistolary Project is an interesting initiative to re-connect families to letters written by their ancestors. The woman who’s started this project buys old letters from antique shops and puts them up on the site with the hope that the descendants will find them and be reunited with the letter (and letter-writer)! What a noble idea!
5. Unwritten Letters Project
   Is there someone, anyone, alive or deceased, that you want to write a letter to or have been wanting to say something to? That is the basic idea behind ULP, to provide a safe, judgement-free space for people to express words and emotions they have left unsaid, in the form of a letter. Writers have a choice whether to publish their letters publicly or not while submitting them.
6. Letter Writers Alliance
   Letter Writers Alliance is exactly what I’ve been dreaming of starting. Based in Chicago, LWA is a membership-based alliance of people who are passionnate about letter-writing. They have special seal-embossed stationery, host ‘letter-writing socials’ and maintain a blog with amazing insights about letters and being a letter-writer in the 21st century.
7. Little Billy’s Letters
   I added this as an afterthought. An unemployed screenwriter in his 30s, Billy Geerhart, to pass him time channeled his inner child and started writing letters to famous and infamous people and institutions. The pencil-written letters on ruled notebook papers ask funny. sometimes-blasphemous questions with a child’s curiosity and sharp mind. He kept the replies he got and published a book, called Little Billy’s Letters: An Incorrigible Inner Child’s Correspondence with the Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Bewildered. This page features some of the best ones. The one to the Archbishop about ‘Catholics’ is especially funny.

If you come across an interesting page.website/blog that features letters or anything dedicated to celebrating and reviving letters, let me know and I’ll add it to the list!