Letter Writer of the Month - Suzanne

The London Letters Pen Pal Club began its life in 2019 with the hope of bringing together letter writing enthusiasts from across the globe to celebrate the joy of receiving letters and the power of the written word.

Over the years we've grown slowly but surely in numbers each week, and we're so proud to now be a 750+ community of snail mailers! We have members from different countries, ages, religions, sexualities, political views, careers, disabilities, and genders - and whilst our differences vary dramatically, we are all united by a love of letters.

'Letter Writer of the Month' is a monthly journal entry where we invite one member from the club to give us an insight into their journey with letters. Some have always been letter writers from a young age, others only began when they signed up to the club. Our members all have a unique story to tell, and we hope you'll love getting to hear it. 

Our Letter Writer of the Month for February is Suzanne.

Name: Suzanne
Age: 65
Job Title: Complaints Lead for a Learning Disability Organisation
Location: North Yorkshire
Member since: October 2021

Tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in letter writing?

What is it about letters that you think makes them special?

I’ve always loved English, our beautiful language, and writing offers a freedom of expression in the privacy of one’s mind and home that cannot be replicated in a text or an emoji. Who doesn’t love receiving a love letter, a birthday card, an invitation through the post. I certainly do. I genuinely adore stationery, especially fountain pens and colourful inks and get lost in a stationery store for hours on end.

Describe your letter writing set up. Do you have a favourite pen or paper? Where are you when you're writing?

What made you sign up to our pen pal club and take a leap of faith by writing to a stranger?

Writing to strangers, there’s a thing. You begin by introducing yourself, the you that is genuinely you, because there’s no photo or other identifying factor in that first letter. After that you unravel pieces of each other’s identities, lives, joys, despairs, confessions, and share your soul's desires if you are lucky enough to find that special pen pal you click with. I write to a dog! Well, his owner, but l send the envelope addressed to them both because she has made him come alive to me, and it feels right to include him. Hi, Wilson!  I have three other London Letters pen pals who l'm getting to know, and their letters bring me enormous joy. I’m a spontaneous responder; l can’t wait to write in answer as soon as that letter drops on the doormat. I think that speaks volumes about the pleasure l get from those wonderful people who write ‘Dear Suzanne’.

What role do you think letters will play in the future?

I hope letter writing continues and the price of stamps drops! Feeling that connection through someone’s handwriting, going to post your letter, knowing there will be one for you a little while after, that's a precious human connection.

What would you say to someone to encourage them to give letter writing a try?

A huge thank you to our Suzanne for her time, and we hope you enjoyed getting to know her! Why not gather a bunch of cards for your next correspondence like Suzanne?

Would you like to join our club? We're always open to new members, you can learn more about the club here.