Fellow blogger Lotti's World has recently written a very insightful post about the importance of letter writing to her. In the media, I listened to a program on Radio National discussing the importance of letters with an historian discussing what an incredible source of information are contained in them and then I read this article, with the headline, "Writers bid to revive letter-writing" in The Guardian. Author Dave Eggers is participating in an initiative from the Rumpus, an American arts magazine, which is offering readers the opportunity to receive a letter a week from literary names including Eggers. The magazine wrote, "Think of it as the letters you used to get from your creative friends, before this whole internet/email thing," The Guardian article also mentions American author Mary Robinette Kowal who launched a "Month of Letters Challenge" for February. It calls on participants to send a letter almost each day of February.
A month of letters sounds a bit intense to me in my already pretty busy life so I'm thinking of writing at least one letter a month this year (and that doesn't include Christmas cards and notes!). A year of letters!
I'm going to plan it out - buy the stationary and stamps so there is no excuse for not sending the letters. And I think I'll set a rough guide about who I will write too. I do have two friends who I write letters to and a large family who live all over the country. I also want to keep in touch with Aunties and Uncles and older relatives who don't use email.
