Is Letter Writing a Lost Art?
- Jonda Beattie
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
As I am putting together items to share at our upcoming family reunion, I have a box for special family letters. The idea is for family members to read the letters and provoke some family discussion.
Recently I finished reading “They Left Us Everything” and in this memoir, the author, who had recently taught a university English course shared a rather frightening (to me) bit of information. She polled her students and none of her students under the age of 25 had ever received a letter. Two remembered receiving a postcard.
When my son who is in his 50s recently came over to visit, I asked him if he ever wrote a letter after he left home. I know he wrote the mandatory thank-you notes when he was living with me and I believe I received a note or two from church camps where the note home was rather required. But what about after that? He thought about it and then responded that he now just uses emails for thank-you notes and that he had not written anything and mailed it.
We had a long talk about how historically letters documented important life events and provided day-to-day insights into how our lives were lived. Letters contributed a lot to our understanding of history.
I think of love letters that have been kept and tied up with ribbon. The letters from family members overseas during war times have over the years been kept in special boxes.
I remember writing letters to my mother when I spent five years living in Germany. At least one of those letters is in the memory box that will be shared. I wrote about day-to-day life and about my two sons who were both born while I lived there. I remember telling my mom that we had updated our wills and gotten the boys haircuts before leaving them with sitters on our trip to Russia. Then sharing fascinating facts about that trip on our return.
While writing those letters I would share personal details of our day-to-day lives and share funny things that the boys had said or done. Often, I would write the letters over a period of days before mailing them.
Letters kept me connected to my family.
Biographies of famous people usually refer heavily on found letters to flesh out information about that person. It helps us know them as real people who had dreams and fears. What will future biographers use to document important lives?
We have gotten so used to sending out that quick email or text when we want to know something or share something. And I’m not against that. They certainly have their place. But let’s remember the thrill of receiving a nicely crafted letter or even a note from someone you care about.
My challenge to you is to take some time this week and draft a letter or even a note to someone you care about. Address that envelope and put on a stamp (maybe put the stamp upside down – does anyone remember what that used to mean?). Then mail it and picture the face of that person when they find it in their mailbox.
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Jonda S. Beattie, Professional Organizer owner of Time Space Organization, and co-owner of Release, Repurpose, Reorganize. She is based in the Metro-Atlanta area. As presenter, award-winning author, as well as a retired special education teacher she uses her listening skills, problem solving skills, knowledge of different learning techniques, ADHD specialty, and paper management skills to help clients.
I was a letter writer for a long time, well after email came into being. I sent cards and long chatty letters to friend who were at camp, then away at college, and I have saved a lifetime of letters I've received. But I haven't received a letter (and have received almost no thank you notes) in about a decade. I miss seeing something personal in my inbox, and get very excited when a card shows up, though I'll admit to rarely sending cards anymore unless someone is ill or in mourning. I have a client for whom I've been working on an extensive project, sorting and culling photos (nine photos of a mountain or a dozen of the butt of…
When my husband and I were in college, we used to write letters when I was away. We haven’t written in a while. But we do give each other greeting cards, and we usually write a few things in there as well.
I've written and received many letters in my life. I still write cards, but not letters. However, I do a lot of writing- some of it is personal and handwritten, like in my personal and meditation journals. Some is typed on a keyboard, like when I'm writing a blog post. The feeling of pen to paper is still something I treasure.
But aside from the physical joy of writing, I also love sharing messages of the heart that way. My husband and I have a long history of letter-writing. When we met as young teens, we didn't live in the same town or have cell phones; we communicated through letters and 'corded' phones. When we were reunited in college and…
I have a daughter who still loves writing letters. In fact, she believes in letters so much that at her wedding, she wrote a personal letter to every guest, putting it on the back of a photograph she dug up of her with the person. There was a moment at the reception where she handed them out and everybody opened them (100+ people!) That was a lot of letters, but such a precious moment. And a couple of joyful tears as well. Email just isn't the same.