From NYRblog, "The Lost Art of Postcard Writing"
Here it is already August and I have received only one postcard this summer. It was sent to me by a European friend who was traveling in Mongolia (as far as I could deduce from the postage stamp) and who simply sent me his greetings and signed his name. The picture in color on the other side was of a desert broken up by some parched hills without any hint of vegetation or sign of life, the name of the place in characters I could not read. Even receiving such an enigmatic card pleased me immensely. This piece of snail mail, I thought, left at the reception desk of a hotel, dropped in a mailbox, or taken to the local post office, made its unknown and most likely arduous journey by truck, train, camel, donkey—or whatever it was— and finally by plane to where I live.
via www.nybooks.com
Some of you dear readers may be aware of my extensive postcard collection (hundreds). it began when I was in middle school and grows every few weeks. As a result, i am enthusiastic to share this blog post from the New York Book Review (thanks esther!) concerning the motivations and tribulations of postcard writers. The author posits a dichotomy of post-card sender types: those who pick the iconic image from their visit and send sentimental notes about traveling, and those who find the funky if not absurd image and write a quirky, ideally humorous, note to the intended recipient.
I was struck by one interesting historical observation made by the author. He questions the existence of a "post-card literature" (very hist and lit of him) and refers to the very brief pointed messages that accompanied post-cards in the early 20th century. I have picked up a couple of vintage cards over the years and indeed they often contain the most serious of news. Marriages, deaths, funerals, and births were all announced by carte-postale. And I wonder, was it the relative cheapness or telegram-like aspect of post-cards that caused people to trust them (no envelope to speak of) with their most intimate and private of messages?
I occasionally grapple with the lack of anonymity of the post-card. Any one at the post office can read my note! Of course, I always realize that no one at the post office cares what I wrote. Furthermore, with the impending slashing of USPS jobs fewer actual people will be reading them.
We should all send a few more of these colorful personal notes, it might seriously boost the Post's numbers while helping to perpetuate a dying print "literature."
one of my more recent aquisitions. Text on back: "Hi Sarah! Greetings from hot-hot-hot (literally Phnom Penh." author will remain anonymous...
Recent Comments