Letter Writers Alliance

Letters of Support for Christchurch

It was with wounded hearts we learned of  the terrorist attack against Muslims in Christchurch. The Letter Writers Alliance has an active presence within Christchurch, and while we didn't know anyone directly affected, we do have many friend and pen pals in the area. One of our friends heads up the Christchurch Letter Writers Society and she reached out to us with her idea for showing support to her community. She'd been contacted by a few people from our international letter writing community regarding how best to send written messages of support. While she isn't comfortable posting addresses of the mosques/local Muslim groups affected, she will accept any written messages of support via the Christchurch Letters Writers Society post office box. She will forward the cards and letters in a bundle via post, or possibly hand deliver them to the recipients.

The mailing address is:

Christchurch Letter Writers Society
PO Box 33036
Barrington Box Lobby
Christchurch 8244
New Zealand 

The Christchurch Letter Writers Society unequivocally stands with our Muslim friends, neighbors, colleagues as does the Letter Writers Alliance. It feels terrible when these things happen, but I gain so much life back from actions like these. Be kind. Try hard. Send love. Stamp out hate. Feel free to share this message.

 

P.S. Image from the P.S. Correspondence Society.

P.P.S. Christchurch Letter Writers Society has an Instagram as well.

P.P.P.S. Stamp Out Hate stickers are still available for free via S.A.S.E. and will be restocked soon. 

2019 Year of the Postbox

Back on the 2nd of January, I called for 2019 to be the Year of the Postbox. I decided to check in on the hashtag #2019yearofthepostbox just to see what was up and BEHOLD! YAY! Other people's mailbox photos. It's really everything I've ever wanted. Except for one thing, and that's all the comments all about how people cannot seem to find mailboxes. We are here to help. There are a number of websites that can locate your nearest blue collection box: Mailbox Map, Mailbox Locate, and the U.S.P.S. website too. I hope you all keep writing and posting! The rule is that a public collection box needs to receive an average of 25 pieces of mail a day to remain in place; so keep feeding those boxes. You can be like David Peterman and take a picture with every box you find!

P.S. The picture on this post is by Coastside Letter Writers Society! I love everything about it.

USSA Postal Service: Chicago Casting Call

Image: Zachary Cahill, USSA Postal Service//The Significance of the Letter

Kathy sent me this link to an amazing sounding art project that is looking for participation/collaboration. If you'll be in the Chicago area on March 5th, perhaps you could be persuaded to participate. It seems like something all L.W.A. members would be perfect for. From their site:

Kleine Welt exhibiting artist Zachary Cahill is conducting a casting call for the USSA Postal Service, an unfolding project that incorporates found narrative and participant-generated content to help create a story of postal relatedness: a novel for the post-post-internet age. Visitors will be invited to participate in a conversation with the artist to share their postal stories and the significance of letter writing, have their portraits taken, fill out a brief (anonymous) questionnaire, and have cookies and milk (and hot cocoa).

The project takes place at the Neubauer Collegium, 5701 S. Woodlawn Ave., on March 5th from 3:30PM - 5:00PM. Please RSVP here.

The Library of Letters

Melanie Knight is doing some pretty interesting things in the letter writing world. She's the creative force behind The Dead Letter Club, a collaborative mystery game that uses letter writing as a way to prompt creative writing. Or maybe it doesn't. It's delightfully cryptic, but the Instagram makes it look like tons of fun. I've never participated as, sadly, they are far away in Australia. I could always write to them though. And that's where the Library of Letters comes into play. 

From Melanie: "Since Dead Letter Club launched late 2017 I’ve been inundated with emails, postcards and letters from around the world. The most humbling letter I received was pages and pages from a gentlemen in his 70’s who lamented not having anyone to write to anymore, living in a small town meant DLC wasn’t an option.

He then shared a memory. As a child his mother created a letter writing chain. A woman would write a letter and send it to the next address on the list. Gradually the collection would expand as it would travel and be added too one letter, one woman at a time. There weren’t replies, only forward moving. Only the release of your thoughts, life and words moving forward and around Australia. Every so often there’d be meet-ups, but mostly the women never knew or met each other.

He asked if this was something I might consider."

The Library of Letters exists to inspire community and understanding through the sharing of the lives of real people, anywhere around the world. Never before have we been so connected through technology yet so disconnected. The Library of Letters strives to promote empathy and a slower way of communicating through the lost of art of letter writing. Your missive will be available for visitors to The Libraby of Letters to read and enjoy, to be transported to your home, work, studio and memories through the thoughts you have shared on paper.

To engage is simple, just send a letter to:

The Library of Letters
PO Box 371
ELWOOD VIC 
AUSTRALIA
3184

I hope to add to the shelves. I encourage you to do the same.

February is for Letters

February is here, folks. February is a BIG month in our letter-loving world. There's that funny old Valentines thing some people like, but we've also got International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo for the hip-and-with-it crowd) and Month of Letters! Both websites operate on the same basic principle- send one letter every day* in the month of February. (*Or every weekday. It's the shortest month; you can do it!) Respond to all the letters you receive. Talk amongst yourselves about the sending of mail through their forums and gain a bunch of Internet points and prizes. It's a great month to be a letter writer! Who's playing along? How are you preparing? Got any fun tips or downloads to share? Let your community know in the comments!

Slowly App

So, it's like, on your phone, right? And you write to people, like an e-mail. But it takes a long time, like a real letter. This is the Slowly app. Ya'll, I don't know about this. There are a hundred different digital stamps to "collect". A whole one hundred. I... don't really see the point except- EXCEPT- that it's free. And free is good because free is more accessible, and I want people connecting with other people. I do know that the cost of the stamp, although I think it is small, can be a burden for some. Something about this service feels gross to me though. Just write a letter! It's fun, I swear. It's easy! THROW YOUR PHONE INTO THE SEA!  Would you use this?  Let us know in the comments.

12 Days of Love Letters

If you're looking for a meaningful postal connection beyond just your annual holiday cards, I highly recommend getting involved with More Love Letter's 12 Days of Love Letters. Their's is a project we at L.W.A.H.Q. wholeheartedly support and champion at any time of year, but we felt like this project in particular was a good highlight of the spirit of the season. They have selected twelve people in need of support and are posting an address a day. I find their Instagram page to be the easiest way to find out who to write. Our love goes out to all the letter writers and all the letter readers.

Thank You, Dr. Ford

From our sister site, Stamp Out Hate: Thank you messages of support and gratitude and awe may be sent to Dr. Christine Ford at the following address:

Dr. Christine Ford

c/o Palo Alto University

1791 Arastradero Rd

Palo Alto, CA 94304

 

She has helped so many with her story. Thank her for not being silent. She has given us her strength. 

 

 

P.S. And if you're thinking about a nasty comment, let's remind you of the wise words of Thumper.

Harvest Mail Swap

There's a lot of swap culture on the internet; so much so, that if I desired, I could probably run a blog entirely devoted to swaps on a daily basis. Well, I don't desire that and, as such, I don't post a lot of the swaps/contests that pass my way. But, I get that some people are really into it and that's cool. More mail = good mail as far as the Alliance is concerned. 

In the spirit of the season, here's a Harvest Mail Swap hosted by Pretty Postal. If this appeals to you, why not give it a try? The instructions seem pretty straightforward and you might get some lovely mail out of it. Remember, you've got to send it to get it. That's both our sort-of motto and the swap way. If you're stuck for ideas, they've got some tips for you. 

Do you like swaps? Do you have a go-to swap blog? Share with the swap curious in the comments below!

Dear Banned Author

Dear Banned Author has a message for you:

Dear readers,

Your words have the power to sway decisions, to defend access to books, to stop censorship. Your words can combat the silencing of stories. Thank you for reading banned books and defending the freedom to read. This page has printable postcards and tips on how to write a letter. What book has impacted your life? Choose an author from the Banned & Challenged Author Addresses & Twitter Handles list and start writing! The list also includes links to authors' Twitter handles, if you also want to share your story online. Please feel free to use the hashtag #DearBannedAuthor, so we can share these stories widely.

A lot of our members sent in this tip (as well as one of our founders, who is notorious for not reading this blog that I so lovingly craft three times a week, who will remain unnamed) about this project from the American Library Association for Banned Books Week. They are asking readers to "to write to their favorite banned or challenged authors, sharing what their stories meant to them. The goal of the campaign is to not only raise awareness of books that are threatened with censorship and support authors, but also encourage thoughtful discussions about the power of words and how essential it is to have access to a variety of viewpoints in libraries." As a letter writer and book reader, this checks all my boxes. Join me in supporting stories over censorship. The Dear Banned Author site has free downloads and tips for writing as well. Check it out!