![]() What do you think? Do you like writing/receiving letters or are you glad it's a dying art? If you'd like to embrace letter writing, here are three simple ways to get started:. As Garfield puts it, "Digital communication, so much quicker, so much easier, has brought forth a new language and a new etiquette, but also a catalogue of farewells: not to ink and calligraphy, for that went with the typewriter, but for a form of expression, emotion and tactile delight for something we may clasp to our heart." ![]() Can a text message have the same effect? I'm not so sure. Write love letters anymore? Remember all the letters that were passed around by characters in Jane Austen novels? (Specifically speaking about the Elizabeth Bennett/Fitzwilliam Darcy connection, here.) There was actually a time when the written word held so much power that it could change the course of people's lives. I still write letters to my friends overseas - long, detailed letters that I know I could just type out over Facebook, but what's the fun in that? And finally, love letters! Does anyone even Perhaps it's the romantic in me, but despite being a digital editor, I still find myself walking around with a notebook and pen, taking notes throughout the day. ![]() And all these changes in just a matter of a couple of decades. Garfield (author of the book mentioned above) talks about how we used to use our whole hand to write, but now, just the tips of our fingers. It's a whole cycle that isn't as prevalent in our culture as it was in the past. The thought process of acknowledging you wanted to get in touch with someone in particular, taking the time to sit down and put pen to paper (and if we go back far enough, put ink in the pen that we put to paper), putting the letter in the post, and waiting to hear back. There was a romance associated with letter writing. And yet, despite the ease of technological advancements in communication, I feel like we've lost so much. In fact, we wouldn't know so much about history if it wasn't for letters, personal accounts and stories passed down through the generations, on paper. Whether through short, one word texts or through phone calls, we can maintain communication across the planet with an ease never experienced before in history. Technology has made it so easy for us to communicate these days. ![]() To the Letter: A Celebration of the Lost Art of Letter Writing, Gotham Books, 2013) It's so true, isn't it? I think we take for granted that A world without letters would surely be a world without oxygen." - Simon Garfield ( It must have seemed impossible that their worth would ever be taken for granted or swept aside. The world once used to run upon their transmission - the lubricant of human interaction and the free-fall of ideas, the silent conduit of the worthy and the incidental, the time we were coming for dinner, the account of our marvelous day, the weightiest joys and sorrows of love. They change lives, and they rewire history. They reveal motivation and deepen understanding. ![]() "Letters have the power to grant us a larger life. This quote (below) sums up my feelings on the art of letter writing: During the odd spare moment, I'll pick one up and quickly read through the message on the back. Pictured below is a wall of postcards displayed at my work desk. Whether it's a little blurb about the place we're visiting or a detailed account about something awesome that happened while on our trip, these little nuggets of writing are always welcomed. My friends and I make it a point to send each other postcards My segment on The Lost Art of Letter Writing. ![]()
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