Australians turn pen to paper to help lift COVID-19 blues while many are stuck indoors
In an era of cut and paste, letters written by hand are precious – and are making a comeback across households nationwide as a way to keep people connected amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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An endangered art just months ago, handwritten letters have made a comeback thanks to the best-known cure for coronavirus blues: human connection.
In the era of cut and paste emails, something written in ink by hand is precious and a welcome sight in mailboxes amid the usual pile of bills and flyers.
Best-selling author Suzanne Leal seemed a likely candidate as a letter writer but she is an enthusiastic recipient instead, amassing a collection from her mother’s bridesmaid and lifelong family friend, Alison Whittle.
Now 77, retired teacher Ms Whittle has written to Ms Leal for more than 20 years.
“She’s almost been a mother figure to me and it’s her contribution to me and to my wellbeing,” Ms Leal said.
“She writes whenever things are a bit tricky in my life. She writes letters to prop me up.”
Ms Whittle said letter writing was in her DNA: “It goes back generations in our family – I think I’ve probably been writing letters all my life.”
An artist and calligrapher, Ms Whittle’s letters are beautiful artworks in themselves, which adds to Ms Leal’s pleasure in receiving them.
“You always know they’re from her, because there’s always calligraphy on the envelope, and they’re always really fat because they’ve got things in them,” Ms Leal said.
“I feel really excited.”
The idea handwritten words can lift someone’s spirits has been happily revived during recent restrictions, with the pleasures of “proper post” introduced to a new generation.
Current Australia Post initiatives such as Dear Australia and the Pen Pal Club encourage people of all ages to make authentic connections through letters.
Once Ms Leal’s eight-year-old daughter Miranda, the youngest of four children, was old enough to appreciate the thrill of receiving handwritten letters in the post, Ms Whittle began writing to her too, inspiring Miranda’s own missives in reply.
“Alison includes little things that people who have an affinity with children know will hit the spot – a funny thing she’s found, like a feather or a stone,” Ms Leal said.
“Or a little story that she’s found, little stickers, and things she’s cut from magazines, so when Miranda opens the letter, there are all these things to look through.”
Ms Leal’s letters from Ms Whittle often include poems and sketches, and beautiful calligraphy, even though Ms Whittle’s sight isn’t what it used to be.
“She’s a really good person who likes to write, and likes to write to me, and doesn’t expect anything in return,” Ms Leal said.
“There’s a real freedom in that. I know that it’s given her pleasure to write them, and she knows that I’ll be pleased to receive them, but she doesn’t expect to have letters back. What she does like is a call from me.”
When Ms Whittle was unable to get out during lockdown due to a pre-existing heart condition, Ms Leal decided it was her friend’s turn to discover something exciting in the mailbox: a copy of her new novel, The Deceptions.
“She was one of the vulnerable people and even getting to the supermarket was going to be tricky for her,” Ms Leal said.
Asked why she continued writing to someone unlikely to reply in kind, Ms Whittle did not skip a beat. “Oh, because I love her,” Ms Whittle said. “She’s the daughter I didn’t have.”
Originally published as Australians turn pen to paper to help lift COVID-19 blues while many are stuck indoors