Classic Past-Times: The Art of Letter Writing

 One of the good things to come out of lockdown this year was the return to more traditional past-times, such as bread-making, gardening and letter writing. My sister and I picked up pen and paper (as did our children) to share letters, stickers, encouragement, LEGO people (that was the kids, not us!) anything really. But then lock down ended and so did our written correspondence. I wish it hadn't so I'm going to pick up the pen and paper and start writing again. And I encourage you to take up this delightful past-time as it connects us to so many of the great writers and thinkers of the past. We get so much of our information about life in the past from letters written. Some of my favourite classic letters are personal ones. For example, Napoleon Bonaparte's love letters to Josephine de Beauharnais (be warned these can get pretty steamy!) and ones from parents to their children, often containing advice (such as Lorenzo de Medici to his son Giovanni after he arrives in Rome, 'that sink of iniquity' to take up training to be a cardinal.)

The Ancient Romans wrote handbooks with sample letters in them and instructions on how to write good letters. The importance of letter-writing permeates the Ancient World, from the Near East, to Greece, Egypt, Rome and China. 

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The Roman statesman and writer Cicero comments in one of his own letters: "what could be more pleasing to me than to write to you or to read your letters when I am unable to speak with you in person."  (Barchiesi, A. (ed). The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies. Oxford University Press, 2010.) How true! The connection that exists in a hand-written letter is often lost in the more impersonal modes of modern communication, such as text and email. Hand written letters also show that you have taken time to sit down and correspond with your cherished friend, and we all know how hard it is to find time these days. This dedication of time makes the letter all the more special. We rarely throw away special things, so we are more likely to keep these hand written notes. A wonderful past time is going back and reading over them.

It was later than Cicero, though, that 'the Golden age of letter writing' took off and by the Italian Renaissance, letters became a valuable source of information on daily life for the modern historian. Look at this glorious example of a 'thanks for your letter' letter from Antonio Magliabechi to Giorgio Baglivi. Do you recognise those calligraphy strokes? Perfect.

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Letter writing (the traditional way, that is) is like journalling or poetry writing. It gives a beautiful, tangible time capsule that you can relive any time. Some of my favourite notes and letters are from my best friend in high school. High school was the best time for letter writing, because even though we saw each other everyday there was still more to be said! And being old, we didn't have mobile phones to text each other after the school day ended. So we scribbled our thoughts on paper and they were wonderful and so urgent in their teenage musings. These letters continued on through university and beyond. The truth is they have dropped away in recent years but the beauty of letter writing is you can start (or re-start) anytime. Everyone loves getting letters in the mail and no one is going to wonder why you are suddenly writing to them! 

In returning to letter writing, or starting it for the first time, we have to take the time to talk about content. What is there to say in a letter? The nicest thing about a letter, I think, is one that sounds like a genuine conversation. You share information and you ask questions, naturally. What do you think about this? What would you have done in that situation? How often do you do this? Can you imagine how I felt? And so on. You know the person that you're writing to (unless it is an unknown pen pal), so this example of natural interaction should not be hard to include, nor should it sound false. If you are already in correspondence, commenting on information or stories shared in previous letters is also a great way to begin. Funny anecdotes or sharing past memories is also especially endearing in letters. I have actually written notes saying, I thought of this morning and just had to write to share it with you...Do you remember... and so on. There is no need for wit and wisdom in every letter, a short note works just as well as one full of intricate detail and longwinded rumination over several days (those these types of letters can be wonderful to receive!). In fact, if you are new to letter writing, I suggest a short, one page note to a friend or loved one is a great place to start. 

Not all letters need fancy stationary (see the scraps in my high school collection above!) but sometimes it's nice. You can include stickers or drawings, newspaper clippings, photos, post cards, pressed flowers, or anything else that you think you friend may enjoy receiving, almost like a little treasure trove of who you both are and why you took the time to include them. It might also be a nice time to pick up your calligraphy pen (if you have one) and put it to good use.

Do you write or receive letters? Have you got a collection of old letters from a high school friend or ex? If so, why do you keep them? I'd love to hear about your letter writing experiences!