In Conversation with Liz Kentish

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 got to interview the brilliant Liz Kentish. Liz is a business woman, company founder and letter writing enthusiast. She is also Trustee of the charity "From Me To You." From Me to You was founded by Alison Hitchcock and Brian Greenley back in 2017 after Alison wrote over 100 letters to Brian during his battle with cancer. To Alison, it was a nice thing to do. To Brian it was - at times - a lifeline. The charity was formed in response to the need for social connection during cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery; easing the isolation and loneliness so often felt by patients regardless of their support network.

Every year From Me to You sends 10,000 letters to people facing cancer. Letters are donated from all over the world through the charity’s Donate A Letter programme and passed on to cancer patients via its network of 40 hospitals and cancer centres across the UK. People can also register to receive letters sent directly to them at home, providing regular letters for as long as they need them. To some recipients the letters provide a glimpse into a world outside of their cancer, to others a much-needed distraction from treatment. And to those who feel cut off from society, the letters can be a lifeline; as one recipient said; “The letters have been a godsend. As my body continues to fall apart, these letters – in an odd way – are holding me together”.

"I love letters because they are tactile, personal, someone has poured themselves into it and taken time. And because you can keep them forever."

Tell us a little bit about your own letter writing history. Do you recall the first letter you received, or wrote?

When I was about 13 years old, I put an advert in the back of a music newspaper called Superpop, which was the ‘poor relative’ of NME and Melody Maker, I guess. I’m not sure if anybody even remembers it. Anyway, I wanted some pen pals. And I had quite a lot of responses. Interestingly, they were all boys. Anyway, for the next five years, I wrote to three of them on a regular basis, got to learn more about them, where they lived, their school, what they enjoyed doing, what they enjoyed reading, what music they liked. And I developed a friendship with these people from afar and none of us ever met up. When we got to 18, we just stopped writing; life got in the way, and we went off to work or college or moved away. I wonder what happened to them all. No, I’m not going to go down the Facebook wormhole here! And then, of course, communication became a lot more digital and a lot less analogue. So we had telex machines. Then we had faxes and emails, and then texts. Now of course, we have WhatsApp too and everything is so instant, isn’t it? I’m not sure how much thought goes into messages when we are communicating instantly and expecting an instant reply.

How often do you write letters now?

Sometimes I spend a few hours replying to letters and cards I’ve received – I find Sunday afternoons are my favourite time – weekend chores are done, and I can sit with a cuppa (or maybe a glass of wine!) and lose myself in letters.

Describe your letter writing set up for us. Do you have any favourite stationery or pens you use? Where do you like to write from?

My home office doubles up as my writing room. I have a desk and a shelf which is full of stationery – I may be a little bit addicted! There are boxes of envelopes, craft items (not really my thing to be fair!), letter writing sets, postcards (thousands of them), stickers, washi tape (not a fan), pens, wax sticks, stampers, dip pens and inks, a fabulous bottle of walnut ink made by a friend – you name it, I probably have it! With all the lovely pens I have, I always return to a trusty purple ball point – I buy them in bulk as I get through so many. I have hot hands (it’s a thing apparently) and if you’ve had a letter from me, you’ll know they end up smudged. It doesn’t matter though, it’s about the love that’s gone into the letter, not how neat it its!

What type of content would you use for a letter, as opposed to digital communication?

My letters are definitely more personal than anything digital. This is because you can take time, there’s no ‘instant gratification’ with a letter, and I hope the recipient will take their time to read (and maybe re-read) it. I typically write about my day, my week, my travels, my garden, my playlist…

What do you think makes letters special?

I love letters because they are tactile, personal, someone has poured themselves into it and taken time. And because you can keep them forever.

Are there any letters that you've held onto for a long time? Do you have a favourite?

I have a wicker hamper in the loft which is my ‘memory box’ and in it there are letters from old boyfriends and some very treasured letters and cards my Dad wrote to me when I was at college. He died when I was 21 and to be able to see his handwriting and hold something he held is wonderful.

Are there any famous letters you're especially fond of?

I love how social media, which is so digital, can create analogue friendships. I write to quite a lot of people I met on Twitter. And I write to quite a lot of celebrities too – friends of mine joke that I’m a bit of a stalker, that I stalk pop stars on Twitter until they become my friends. Well, there’s a little bit of truth to that. But mostly I write to celebrities because well, having suffered from imposter syndrome myself, I think a lot of us do. And I think it’s nice to be able to write to someone and tell them specifically about a positive impact they’ve had on either my life, or the life of my family. So let me give you an example.

My dad wasn’t always quick to show his emotions. But what I do remember is on a Wednesday evening, when MASH was on the TV, hearing my dad roar with laughter watching it. And he especially liked the character of Hawkeye Pierce, played by Alan Alda. So last summer, when I was writing some letters, I thought, you know what, I’ll write to Alan Alda and tell him because perhaps he’d be interested to know that he brought laughter to our family home for many, many years.

I’ve written to other actors. I’ve written to journalists, disc jockeys, poets, authors, newsreaders, musicians, other people in the public eye. Mostly just to say ‘Hello’, and ‘thank you’. The irony sometimes is when people then direct tweet me or send me a message on WhatsApp to say thank you for the letter. But you know what, it really doesn’t matter if it’s brought them a moment of joy, perhaps some smiles or some chuckles or even some rolling of eyes, then I feel it’s been worth it. I have had some handwritten replies. And they just come out of the blue. And it’s just wonderful that someone else has taken time to put pen to paper.

Do you feel any positive benefits to your mental health when you're writing or receiving a letter?

When I was a teenager, I used to keep a daily journal, and it was good to be able to pour my heart out into those books. Letter writing works in a similar way; the plus side being, once the letters are posted, they’re gone from me, and I won’t have to re-read them!  So, yes, writing letters is as powerful for my mental health as journalling. The idea of sending joy to someone else, who will smile when they see a handwritten envelope come through their door – there’s no better feeling.

How do you envisage the future of letter writing? 

People need social connection, whether that’s in person or not.  Our ever more digital world doesn’t fill that need completely, and letters can help. There is a growing interest in niche communities that appreciate and promote traditional practices, including letter writing. Pen pal programs, letter-writing clubs, and stationery enthusiasts are contributing to a revival of this art. Letters can also serve as valuable cultural and historical artifacts. They provide personal insights into specific time periods, offering a rich source for historians and future generations.  The letters we write today could be a rich source of social history in the future.

What would you say to someone that's never written or received a letter before, to encourage them to try it?

Early on, I realised not to write a letter in anticipation of a reply. For me, I discovered that the joy was actually in the writing. And while I’m writing a letter to someone, I’m holding that person in my mind, in my heart and my thoughts, and almost hearing them reading my letter once they receive it. Often people say to me, I’d like to write a letter, but my handwriting is terrible. Well, I’d like to be able to tell you that having written hundreds of letters over the last year and a half, my handwriting has improved, but I don’t think it has.

I’m not here to convince you to start writing letters, although of course, I’d love it if you do. Is there someone who you could drop a letter or even just a postcard to, someone you’ve been thinking of recently. Just tell them about your day. Tell them what you can see out the window, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is you take the time to think about them and just invest a bit of your own day for them.

There are some people I write to on a regular basis, and we started having lovely correspondence. Let me just share with you one second-hand example of something really lovely that happened. A friend I write to told me that she was inspired to write to another old school friend who now lived overseas. And this school friend was a great cello player. Turns out the school friend is actually now a professional cellist living overseas. And my friend always nagged her at school to play the Pink Panther theme on the cello, because she just loved it.

Anyway, she wrote to this friend who she hadn’t seen for many, many years, and the friend wrote a handwritten letter back. The loveliest thing was that the letter back was written on the back of a music score to the theme from the Pink Panther. Isn’t that wonderful? The fact that people remember these things, and they mean so much to both people. So that’s just one story of the joy that a handwritten letter can bring.

I’ve been so lucky to meet up with several of my penpals over the last few years – in California, Berlin, Scotland, Paris…building a friendship through letters is wonderful!

A huge thank you to Liz for her time and passion. You can find out more about From Me To You by heading to their website or by following them on Instagram.

Why not start writing like a pro today, inspired by Liz's favourite stationery, with our Letter Writing Set and a wax stamp?