Letters to Love - Postcard from Truman Capote
"Dear Boris- Have settled on this beautiful island for the summer. Wish you could spend your holiday with me. So glad you got the dictionaries. Will write you a letter soon. Please drop me a line. Always-Truman C."
I just adore the simplicity of this postcard.
After arriving on a Greek island and thinking of his friend Boris Groudinko, Truman Capote pens a quick note to say hello and inform him of his safe arrival. I’ve never seen the reverse photo side of this postcard but have dreamy visions of aqua blue seas and white cobbled streets against bright blue skies.
Swoon.
Postcards are somewhat of a lost art nowadays. Amongst my friendship group (and I imagine many others), it’s never been a practice we’ve ventured into. And yet, it’s such a thoughtful and lovely gesture that I wonder why we haven't?
My mum will always write me whenever she’s abroad. It’s a little snapshot into her holiday, and helps me imagine her on her adventures. Often it won’t be somewhere I’ve been myself, so I’ll make a mental note of anywhere that looks especially charming and add it to my list of places I’d like to visit one day. Much to her frustration (and our amusement), her postcards will frequently arrive after she’s returned home and we’ve already caught up. Most recently this happened just a couple of months ago after a holiday in February 2020 to Costa Rica. She left (and thankfully, returned) just before the first lockdown here in the U.K. but had sent my Dad a postcard shortly after she arrived there. She came home and regaled us with stories about her experiences but, shortly after... the world shut down. That put an end to discussions about holidays pretty quickly.
In March of 2020, over a year later, a postcard dropped onto my parent’s doormat. Aghast at who could possibly be travelling at this time, let alone have the audacity to send a postcard about it, they picked it up with surprise only to realise it was her own, from all those months before. We’re not sure what happened to the postal system in Costa Rica just before covid, but we love that once they got back up and running, they committed to their job and posted her card regardless of the time delay. It brought with it a smile and happy memories, and sits on their kitchen windowsill to this day.
Included in June's Paper Club box - a keepsake of Truman's postcard
I’d like to revive this pastime. Now that it seems more likely we’ll be able to travel this summer, I encourage you to write one whenever you’re next away from home. I promise it will brighten up your recipient’s day.
There’s not a great deal of space to write on a postcard, so taking a lead from Capote, keep your message short and sweet; a little insight into what you’ve done that day, a lovely restaurant, interesting gallery or a relaxing swim in the pool is enough to give a glimpse into your travels.
It's a comfort to think that despite being so far away, you’re still thinking of someone you love.
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