The Lovely Letters Project

Finding Kindred Spirits: Pen Pals in Australia

The Lovely Letters Project is dedicated to reviving the cherished, unhurried art of writing and connecting with pen pals in Australia through snail mail.

Here’s a little bit of background about how it came about …


OK, let's not beat around the bush -  I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s. (Born in 1972 if you need all the age details!). Back then, there were two main forms of communication that kept me going. One was the good old telephone (think hard plastic, red, cream or black, dial the numbers, curly cord always in a constant tangle, oh, and if you were lucky enough to have an extension cord, then you could get the phone all the way from the phone table to your bedroom, as long as you were lying on the floor, that is). The other, and my favourite, by far, the hand written letter.

When I was a little girl, and well into my teens, I would sit at my desk, usually on the weekends, and I’d write letters. I had a list of people to write to – Nan, Grandma, aunties, friends from my Sydney school days, penpals from all over the world. I’d pick up my pen and become lost in the written word. Every now and then I’d pause to collect my thoughts, thinking about my week and the recipient of the letter – what would they enjoy hearing about? What had been going on in their lives? What had they mentioned in their last letter that I could respond to? What had my family members been up to that could keep them amused? It was a precious time in my life, and those childish letters that I wrote, most definitely created in me a desperate desire to connect with loved ones (and sometimes, those I’d never met before) through the written word.

So, if you would like to become a part of the Lovely Letters community, if you would like to receive and send letters about simple, daily life – perhaps share recipes, talk about meals, share gardening and home stories, and you are committed to exchanging them each month, then please join this project. You are the perfect person to begin this mission to bring back old fashioned slow mail. You'll love it!

 

HOW DOES IT ALL WORK?

Sign up to The Lovely Letters Project. Follow the email instructions that will arrive in your inbox. Join the pool of Lovely Letter writers, and get matched up with a different person and theme each month. Your name and address will be shared with someone else within the Lovely Letters community so that you can begin exchanging letters. Or, receive a permanent penpal. The choice is yours.

 

What do you think? Are you in?

If so, join up today, and get back into the lovely art of letter writing. It really does bring a whole lot of joy.