Take a peek at “Other People’s Love Letters”

“I found a letter on my girlfriend’s kitchen counter and —gulp—I read it.”

This dicey predicament led Bill Shapiro to wonder about the genre of love letters and what it is about them that we are drawn to.  After exiting the no longer benign kitchen, he decided to explore this further and seek out and collect other people’s  love letters.  He didn’t have to look far, for he came to realize that love letters exist in just about every closet, shoe box or garage you can imagine; people save them forever, but no one ever sees them.

I corresponded with Bill recently, about  this fascinating project that led to the publication of the book “Other People’s Love Letters.” Here is an excerpt  of our conversation:

What is it about other people’s letters that we cannot resist?

“Voyeurism is a big draw. It’s so rare to be able to look into someone’s life, into their most private and emotional moments. It’s hard to resist a little peek. For me, being able to look into someone else’s life actually allowed me to look at my own, through a different lens. Have I had the feelings described in the letter? With that intensity? Would I have run to or from that person? There is a strong element of comparison and a chance for internal reflection.”

From the letters that soon began to pile up in your living room, did any favorites emerge?

“I love the spontaneity of the note scribbled on the bar room napkin. There’s one entitled ‘Thank you, I hate you, I’m sorry’ that is so human and so filled with honest emotion. There’s a text that is pure lust. There’s an agonizing, angry letter to a boyfriend who died. I love all of those. They feel very personal to me. They capture not just a feeling but a place and a moment.”

Do you think people still write each other love letters?

“They do. Absolutely, they do. There is no question in my mind. People still write love letters to each other. They may be handwritten, typed, texts, emails or cave paintings. We use the tools that are in front of us to communicate the feelings that are most important to us. For better or for worse, texts often lead to in-the-moment, spontaneous expressions, while handwritten letters lead to more thoughtful, and perhaps more mediated expressions.”

Love letters are timeless

Thanks so much Bill for being the curator of  the love letters and allowing them a place to speak for themselves.  I thoroughly enjoyed making my way through the book and loved how each love letter was so different. Some were drawings, doodles, scribbles on receipts. Others were emails, texts, postcards, all of them very personal.

Have you written a love letter lately?  Or perhaps you have a stash of your own collecting dust somewhere?

P.S.  I would love for you to experience Bill’s book.  And so, for the  first person to leave a comment sharing a snippet about a love letter,  I will send you my copy.  Yup, that’s right.  And for the rest of you who leave a comment, the best I can do is send some XOXO your way. Smile.