Letter Writer of the Month - Charlotte
The London Letters Pen Pal Club began its life in 2019 with the hope of bringing together letter writing enthusiasts from across the globe to celebrate the joy of receiving letters and the power of the written word.
Over the years we've grown slowly in numbers each week, and we're so proud to now be a 650+ community of snail mailers! We have members from different countries, ages, religions, sexualities, political views, careers, disabilities, and genders - and whilst our differences vary dramatically, we are all united by a love of letters.
'Letter Writer of the Month' is a monthly journal entry where we invite one member from the club to give us an insight into their journey with letters. Some have always been letter writers from a young age, others only began when they signed up to the club. Our members all have a unique story to tell, and we hope you'll love getting to hear it.
Our Letter Writer of the Month for August is Charlotte.
Name: Charlotte
Age: 29
Job Title: PhD Student and Writer
Location: Oxford
Member since: 2020
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became interested in letter writing?
As a child my first foray into letter writing was being forced to do my thank you letters (something I was always terrible at). Beyond that, I read a lot, especially novels that had a historical setting, and so letter writing to my fictional friends was something I used to enjoy when I was playing pretend. There were lots of Victorian orphans, or princesses stuck in The Tower waiting to be executed, or letters with parchment-burned edges from my long lost parents, who had been forced to abandon me because of my magical powers. My actual parents were downstairs and unwilling to leave me unsupervised with an open flame and candle wax, something which at the time I considered horribly unfair. When I worked out you could write letters to your real friends, I was hooked.
What is it about letters that you think makes them special?
The only thing I really get in the mail these days are deliveries or bills. It’s so exciting to receive a letter, I think especially because it’s so unusual. The anticipation of not knowing what it will contain, or what the person has written to you to say. Letters need time to read and digest them, and all of those things make receiving one stand out.
What type of things do you write in letters, compared to digital communication?
There’s just more to expand upon in a letter. I think when you’re texting or emailing someone you’re very aware that they are busy and want to get straight to the point. Whereas a letter - you can meander in those. While I love reading letters about something or someone specifically, my favourites are ones in which the person just fills it with a random assortment of things they have been enjoying recently. I’ve also always enjoyed newsletters, which feel as close as you can get to a ‘digital letter’, and also tend to have more of that expansion in them. I recently started my own, which is a diary-style update on my PhD research and filled with strange medieval facts, but nothing beats the physical feeling of putting pen to paper.
Do you have a favourite letter, either a famous one or one you’ve personally received?
I actually own a lot of letter compilation books and always enjoy them - my favourites are letters from artists or creatives, often when they are bemoaning a lack of inspiration or productivity. I find them comforting. Personally, my dad sent me a letter in my first year of university that means a lot to me, and my mum still has lots of letters her mum sent to her, which are very special.
Do you feel any positive benefits to your mental health when you write?
I enjoy the ritual of it. To me, letter writing feels like a Sunday morning activity, when everything is a little slow and quiet and not-quite-woken-up-yet. I don’t only write letters on Sunday mornings, but whenever I do write letters it feels like a Sunday morning, even if only for 20 minutes. I think that is good for the soul.
Describe your letter writing set up to us. Do you have a favourite pen or paper? Where are you when you’re writing?
I write anywhere, but there has to be a table to lean on. I’m ambivalent about paper brand but I enjoy something not too thick. I start to get fussy with my pens - I like a fountain pen. If I’m using pencil I like the Blackwings, like every other stationery nerd in the world. There is a reason they’re so well-loved.
What made you sign up to our pen pal club, and take a leap of faith by writing to a stranger?
I didn’t think it was too strange to write to a stranger! I’ve done letter clubs before, and it’s nice to slowly get to know someone across a distance.
Do you believe letters still have a place in modern society?
I think more so than ever before. I’m a historian by training and am currently doing a PhD in medieval history. As historical sources, letters are invaluable (I wish more survived from the medieval period!). I think we will see a similar thing - a real lack of written sources - for the period we are currently in. Digital technology becomes obsolete so quickly; just think already how many old phones and laptops are currently unusable. All the information on them, the emails, the photos, are now lost. In 100 years, we won’t be able to access a person’s old email account, but we will be able to read their letters. If we want people to hear our voices and not just see the amount of stuff we’ve left behind, we need to write!
What would you say to someone to encourage them to give letter writing a try?
You don’t have to write to anyone at first if you are nervous and can just send them to yourself! I also think prompts are great if you can’t think of what to say. What can you see from your letter-writing vantage point? List everything in front of you! What was something that happened yesterday that you’re still thinking about? What are you making for dinner later? I love reading people's recipes, stories about food or meaningful meals they shared, recent things they’ve done or seen, exhibitions that they enjoyed. Alternatively, send a postcard or write in big handwriting, so there’s less pressure to fill the page!
A huge thank you to our Charlotte for her time, and we hope you enjoyed getting to know her! Why not pick up Charlotte's go-to Blackwing pencil for your next letter?
Would you like to join our club? We're always open to new members, you can learn more about the club here.