Letters of Note - compiled by Shaun Usher

 

 One of the many things I loved about this collection was the presentation. Each entry had some background information and circumstances of the individual correspondents, the printed text of the letter and in many cases a photograph of the actual document which is as close as you can get to beholding the original, without the inconvenience of those very fetching white gloves! And it’s absolutely fascinating. To see the Queen offering an American president her recipe for drop scones was somehow so uplifting!  And even if some of the “participants ” were unfamiliar to me the letters were just as interesting as the famous names I knew and revered. It’s a book I’ve been dipping in and out of since I was lucky enough to receive a gifted copy from Canongate books.

In an age where letter writing has sadly declined digital messaging seems to be the way in which we prefer to communicate. Or maybe prefer is not the right word, it seems to be a convenient way to communicate and for some people it’s the only way. So I think a book like this is so refreshing because it’s not just interesting sociologically and historically it’s also saying, hey letter writing is important. Paper trails are important. I cannot see a future where anybody is going to offer up a comparable collection of emails or WhatsApp chats. 

The first thing I did was scan the table of contents to see if any of my “favourites” were included in this collection. I’m happy to say they were. Highlight for me was one of my literary heroes, Jack Kerouac, writing to Marlon Brando! The collection boasts an eclectic mix of people from all stations in life. The emphasis, I guess, is about how interesting the letters are, how quirky and offbeat some of them are and how pertinent, thought-provoking and intelligent many of them are. In that sense it doesn’t matter whether our epistolary activists are “famous“ or not! There’s even a letter written in China in about AD 856. But in case you’re worrying that it’s all going to be “old “stuff! Fear not. People like Tom Hanks and Nick Cave feature. I would say there’s something for everyone here, and for me, it’s not a book I’m going to put away on a bookshelf it’s a book I’m going to have around me to dip into and marvel at the ‘ancient art’ of letter writing. Bring it back. And thank you, Shaun Usher, for what I think must be an absolute labour of love. I understand Mr. Usher has compiled several collections arranged thematically, love, music etc,  which I intend to explore.