12-19-2012, 04:16 PM | #1 |
Groupie
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Pen Pals
Just wondering if anyone does this or has in the past.
Many of my favorite authors were prolific letter writers, I imagine its less common these days with so many cheap/free modes of communication. |
12-19-2012, 04:29 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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Never had, but maybe if one of my fans starts writing me I will reply.
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12-19-2012, 07:59 PM | #3 |
cacoethes scribendi
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I often write to myself (but I don't always reply ). Does that count?
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12-20-2012, 12:02 AM | #4 |
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Not so much as an adult but when I was a kid in school we had pen pal programs. Once we had some balloons filled with helium and we attached a note to them and sent them aloft. As I recall my pen pal had just as bad handwriting as I did at the time. lol. That was way back in the late 70's or early 80's.
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12-20-2012, 02:46 AM | #5 | |
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Quote:
No phone. No text. No email. No social media. I will say that much is lost now days. When a letter was penned, there was careful thought usually put into it. First you wished to present yourself favorably, to impress, and secondly you wished your words and indeed your very thoughts and mood that you were impressing onto that piece of paper to "influence." Today, there is just a rush to "send it out." Then there could be days or weeks between letters. The other thing that was lost is the art of penmanship. My mother had a beautiful hand, much as you will see in the archived samples of penmanship from long ago. It was "graceful." |
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12-20-2012, 11:34 AM | #6 |
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I used to when I was a kid, still got most of the letters I got from writers and musicians though I have sold a few when times were hard(er). I doubt anyone will bother now, it's a lot easier to get an email address than a postal one.
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12-20-2012, 03:49 PM | #7 |
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I had a few pen pals in other countries when I was younger, mostly sponsored through school. Then, in college I exchanged letters with an amazing girl from Japan, whom (who? darn it!) I had met when she came to our high school as part of an exchange program.
That was in the 90s; we had email and, before we graduated, the WWW, but Kyoko and I still preferred to write old fashioned letters. She got artistic with hers, and would illustrate the margins with scenes from her life. She was incredibly talented. When she graduated college she became a professional artist. We lost touch around 2000 or so, due to us both moving around a lot and never having the common sense to exchange email addresses. I still have all her letters, including some that she wrote to me in Japanese, even though she knew I couldn't read them. She told me when she sent them, "If we meet again I will translate them for you, or perhaps in the future you will learn to read them yourself!" An associate translated them for me a few years ago; turns out the letters in Japanese were elegantly-stated observations about our friendship and how much it had meant to her, especially when she was lonely on her exchange trip in America. Being pen pals with her was a great experience, and I feel like I really learned a lot from her. It makes me a little sad to think that pen pals aren't really "a thing" anymore. It was such a valuable experience for me! Wow, thinking about this has made me miss her. I think I'll try to track her down. I'm sure she must have a web presence somewhere! Edit: Well, I have quite a challenge ahead if I want to find her. Not only does she share her name with a semi-famous soprano, a performance dancer, and an expert on China, but I would guess that she has married and changed her name by now. The only hit I can find that is identifiable as her is from 1998, when her art was published in a book. Oh, dear! Well, it shall be an interesting hunt, at least. Onward! Last edited by Skibble; 12-20-2012 at 07:32 PM. Reason: Addition |
12-20-2012, 07:49 PM | #8 |
cacoethes scribendi
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12-21-2012, 12:12 AM | #9 |
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When I was a kid I wrote back and forth with Judy Blume
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12-21-2012, 01:17 AM | #10 | |
Runs With Scissors
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Jhempel24, how did you end up exchanging letters with Judy Blume? That sounds fascinating! I loved her books as a child. Last edited by Skibble; 12-21-2012 at 01:17 AM. Reason: Le Bold Font |
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12-25-2012, 04:23 PM | #11 |
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My handwriting is abysmal, so it would't be a good experience for my pen pal!
I suppose I could write and print the letters and send them that way. |
12-27-2012, 03:45 AM | #12 |
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Well, twenty years ago in China, we made pen pal friends by searching the ads put on the middle fold of a newspaper, I found one pal, and thought she was a teacher after several letters, her letters were kind of a poetic style. In the end, it turned out that she was a student in a middle school when we finally met.
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12-27-2012, 06:53 AM | #13 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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12-27-2012, 06:55 AM | #14 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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12-27-2012, 07:31 AM | #15 | |
Wizard
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When I was in elementary school we had to pick an author we liked to write a letter to. The teacher then made sure it got to the right people. I loved Super Fudge back then so it was her. And she responded, more than once. It was pretty neat. I think my mom might have the letters still. She kept pretty much everything lol. |
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