In this age of e-mail and texting no one writes letters anymore, and Stephen Elliott and the folks over at The Rumpus are trying to change that by introducing literary authors to readers via their Letters in the Mail project.
The Rumpus has also begun connecting their readers by offering them a chance to write to each other. Even better, the latest Letters to Each Other is open to anyone, not just subscribers to Letters in the Mail.
The basics: you write a one-page letter (double-sided is fine), send it along with a self-addressed stamped envelope and $2 to cover postage to the address specified in the post. The folks at the Rumpus make five copies and mail them to five other people who participate in LTEO. If you want the folks who receive your letter to write back, you include a return address in your letter.
I participated in the first LTEO, and I had a lot of fun replying to the letters I was sent. Do be aware that this is an entirely random chance sort of thing, what with the shuffling of letters and not knowing where they go. Think of LTEO as a way of sticking a message in a bottle and tossing it into the sea of the universe -- who knows where it will land?
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This is a bit like Postcrossing, a site I have just recently discovered. I love getting postcards from around the world, and I've been inspired to send postcards I've made from my own photographs.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a really fun experience, and it's nice to get off the keyboard for a change, even if my writing is just that little space on a postcard.
I think I'm going to try this! Thank you, Lynn, for sharing the information and link.
ReplyDeleteI've started reading your blog (what a pleasant surprise to find that one of my favorite authors has a blog!) and feel very motivated to keep writing myself. Letters, poems, maybe even fiction...if I can work up the nerve.
I also just submitted some poems to the Arroyo Literary Journal, per one of your recent blog entries.
Also, just a quick side note...I love your StarDoc series. I found the second book in the band hall in my high school (back in '00 or '01) and have been hooked on the series ever since. I'm sad to see it end, but I hold you in such high esteem for your talent and dedication!