This is the thing about a hand-written letter: It’s ephemeral. It’s personal. It’s (mostly) untraceable. It doesn’t go into a database. It's not for public consumption.
That’s what makes letters so very valuable. They are more and more rare, and, yet, remain a beautiful way to whisper to just one other person across the miles.
It might seem strange to use electronic media to encourage something so old-fashioned. But today, I’d like to ask you to write one letter or postcard to another person -- family, friend, acquaintance, stranger -- by hand. Bonus points if you write to someone who would least expect to hear from you on paper.
Before you send what you wrote, take a photo of something tantalizing about it -- the stamp, the photo on the postcard, your hand dropping it into a postbox -- and share it on Twitter and/or Instagram tagged #ListserveByHand. If you want to tag me, too, on either platform, I’m @egratto.
Happy writing.
Genie Gratto
Oakland, CA
[email protected]