In this day and age, writing morally calls for recognising that every sentence is written inside a burning house. To write anyway is not an act of purity but an act of responsibility. It is not putting out the fire, but bearing witness to its heat, its smoke, and the people trapped inside.
There is, in Jon’s words, ‘a weird tension’ between The Letters Page’s insistence on physical submissions and its simultaneous reliance on digital media. The journal mandates that submissions are sent via post and yet Jon admits that the journal ‘wouldn’t exist’ without the digital tools which are vital for its production.
Sitting down with Jon, are intrigued to learn what drew him to the epistolary theme in the first place. ‘It’s not so much that letters are important, as interesting. There’s more information in a letter that comes in the post – it’s an object that’s moved through space to get to you.’
What began as an unsuspecting blog page, advertising itself as ‘the letters page for a journal that doesn’t yet exist‘, soon morphed into a professionally produced journal of which every page was a letters page.
‘The natural beauty of British coastlines has long inspired writers to pick up their pens’, writes The Letters Page’s Amy Plant as she discovers the surprising links between a Virginia Woolf classic and our latest published letter.
The latest contributor to The Letters Page, Clive Cass, has an avowed passion for art history, and in his spare time ‘read[s] a lot of factual information on art and artists’. So what better way to thank him for his letter to us than with a year-long subscription to the arts and culture magazine Aesthetica?
Clive Cass reflects on his journey of self discovery and emotional expression in this interview, demonstrating the power of the letter as a tool of self-reflection and as a mode of expressing gratitude to those who have helped us on our path.
Clive Cass’s letter to us reveals that writing is a deeply personal and artistic act. Here, Maria Rocha reflects on historical artistic depictions of letter writing, showcasing an evolution from divine to domestic themes, and emphasising the emotional power and creativity inherent in letters, even in today’s digital age.
Nay Saysourinho reflects on the power of stamps and letters, emphasising their potential to carry emotional and historical weight. Her creative process intertwines personal storytelling and artistic expression, demonstrating how small gestures can leave lasting impressions.
The one-of-a-kind letter featured in our latest aerogramme comes from Nay Saysourinho. This letter immediately stood out to us because it featured five unique stamps. They were all commemorative stamps, with four displaying art from prominent artists, and one commemorating the 2017 total solar eclipse visible in North America.
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