1 Sealed Letter

What makes for a good note? In this episode I share some of my favorite ideas for notes so that you can find inspiration and send your love ones little notes as well. Hope you find this episode short and sweet.

Not all relationships go how we’d like, and even ones that end don’t always end well. Sometimes it’s worth writing a person to break off a relationship. Other times, the experience of writing a letter can help us appreciate how a relationship served us and allow us to speak our peace when things fall apart. In this episode, I provide tips on how to write a Dear John letter and explain, why it’s never to late to seek epistolary comfort.

Did mail-order brides have anything to do with the mail? What would compel someone to marry someone they haven’t met? Is this episode, I explore the history of mail-order brides and uncover a bigger story about gender dynamics in the colonies.

When writing a condolence letter, I always try to make my letter as personalized as possible.

The length of the letter may vary, but I follow a simple framework:

1. Send your condolences

2. Share something from your memory of the person

3. Provide some type of support, even if it’s just emotional.

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Dedicated lover or 19th. century toxic narcissist enabler? Victor Hugo’s mistress of 50 years kept constant correspondence with him, sometimes writing multiple letters a day. She supported his career and even joined him during his exile on Guernsey. What can we make of her letters and their relationship?

Sources Juliette

Juliette Drouet’s Love-letters to Victor Hugo. Edited by Louise Guimbaud. Translated by Lady Theodora Davidson. London: Stanley Paul & Co. (1915)

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44034/44034-h/44034-h.htm

This letter & More Information

https://theamericanreader.com/1-november-1839-juliette-drouet-to-victor-hugo/

After Beethoven’s death in 1827, an unsent love-letter was discovered in a hidden compartment of his desk. For centuries, scholars have tried to guess who the intended recipient of the love letter was, and if it resulted in an affair.

Sources:

https://www.cpr.org/2020/09/22/the-2-women-who-could-be-beethovens-immortal-beloved/

https://books.lettersofnote.com/products/letters-of-note

Listen to the historic letters about William Faulkner’s tenure as postmaster at the University of Mississippi. While his notorious reputation as postmaster is no secret, the charges against him are worth exploring in greater depth with his subsequent letter of resignation.

See and purchase William Faulkner’s postage stamps here: https://www.littlepostagehouse.com/vintage-postage-bluegreen/Faulkner

Sources:

Webb, James W. And A. Wigfall Green. William Faulkner of Oxford. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1965

The Falkners and the University, Mississippi, Post Office Author(s): Gerald W. Walton

Source: The Faulkner Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (FALL 1989), pp. 49-50 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

"Case No. 133733-C": The Inspector's Letter to Postmaster William Falkner Author(s): JOAN ST. C. CRANE

Source: The Mississippi Quarterly , Summer 1989, Vol. 42, No. 3, SPECIAL ISSUE: WILLIAM FAULKNER (Summer 1989), pp. 229-245

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

The New Yorker, NOVEMBER 21, 1970 ISSUE

THE POSTMASTER By William Shawn, November 13, 1970

The podcast is back! In this episode, I share some about my personal experience with letter writing and the magic I find in letters. I share some about my philosophy of letter writing and why I think letter writing is even more important in the digital age.

The arguments around “separate but equal” education started long before Brown vs. Board of Education. In August 1885, a Chinese American mother, Mary Tape, fought the SF Board of Education’s discriminatory policies against her daughter, Mamie Tape. In this episode, we explore her story and letter she wrote in response to the school district’s racism.

The best expressions of gratitude come from gratitude received fully. In this episode, I give my best tips for writing a thank you note and share about my philosophy of receiving.