In Conversation With Alan Cleaver
At London Letters our goal is to create beautiful stationery pieces that encourages you to write more letters. We believe that letters play an important role in modern society, and we're not alone in this view.
Each month we'll be chatting with a different snail mail enthusiast to find out why they think letters are special, why they think they still matter today, and what drives their passion to continue writing.
This month we spoke to the brilliant Alan Cleaver. Alan is an author living in Whitehaven, Cumbria. His latest book, 'The Postal Paths', looks at the routes walked by rural postmen and women until the 1970s. Alan is a keen letter writer, envelope doodler, and member of the Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society.
"The written word survives longer than the spoken word - the earliest examples are thousands of years old - so it offered the chance for me to 'leave my mark'. The chance to say, "I was here"."
Tell us a little bit about your own letter writing history. Do you recall the first letter you received, or wrote?
I have always had a general interesting in the written word - and a specific interest in the handwritten word. It was therefore not too surprising that I pursued a career in journalism and, latterly, becoming an author. The written word survives longer than the spoken word - the earliest examples are thousands of years old - so it offered the chance for me to 'leave my mark'. The chance to say, "I was here". The only challenge has been deciding what to write.
What type of content would you use for a letter, as opposed to digital communication?
Word documents, emails, texts and other digital messages are too ephemeral. Who can still recover something they tapped into a computer just ten years ago? Or an email from five years ago? But I have handwritten letters from my late parents, grandparents and great grandparents dating back more than 100 years. They record moments of great joy - and also great sadness. I am also accruing letters from the next generation or two: my nieces, nephews and their children.
Do you feel any positive benefits to your mental health when you're writing or receiving a letter?
I've always enjoyed handwriting letters. My parents encouraged - indeed insisted - I write to them regularly and I enjoyed spending evenings putting pen to paper. It gave me a chance to practise my handwriting but I also found it a way to 'slow down' my mental processes and think more carefully about what I was writing. In the world of journalism, the next deadline is never more than a few minutes away but with a handwritten letter there is no rush. Handwriting was mindfulness before mindfulness was invented.
Are there any famous letters you're especially fond of?
Doodling on my letters and envelopes is a more recent thing, inspired by West Cumbrian artist Percy Kelly (1918 - 1991). He was a postman in Kendal, Cumbria but an obsessive artists and would doodle on the envelopes he was delivering. It got him him into trouble as customers complained their mail had been 'defaced'. They should have kept quiet - his painted letters now sell for hundreds of pounds each. I love the idea of mixing words and pictures - something I could experiment with when I moved into page-design on newspapers later in my career. The pinnacle of page design was surely the illuminate manuscript but this came to a crashing end in 1440 when Johannes Gutenberg dreamed up the printing press which insisted upon slabs of dull text. Computers should have revived the mix of pictures and text but publishers seem to think only children want colourful artistic books, leaving adults with books consisting of page after page of text and only the occasional picture - and usually a black and white one. I am not trained in art but I hope my letters show others that even the humble letter can be a beautiful art form.
What do you think makes letters special?
Why is sending a handwritten letter important? Because it shows you care about someone enough to take time to write it. It tells them they are not forgotten. It does not have to be written in perfect cursive hand. And it doesn't have to have drawings on it (although they're nice!). But it should be written with thought and love.
How do you envisage the future of letter writing?
I am realistic. I know the future of letter-writing will be emails, texts and all things digital. Something very different from what I would want it to be. Handwritten letters will, I fear, only survive as a niche art form. Before long, I expect handwriting will be removed from the school curriculum in favour of keyboarding. Handwriting will be consigned to the art class. Sending letters by post will be a luxury not everyone can afford (it is almost that now). So we will be the last generation for whom letters are a common form of communication. On the plus side, they will last for hundreds of years. So what are you going to write....?
A huge thank you to Alan for his time and passion. You can purchase his latest book 'The Postal Path' here or find out more about Alan's work by heading to his Instagram page.