Write The Letter In Your Mind [Kim Stafford]

The way Richard Hugo’s letter poems addressed friends from afar, the way Emily Dickinson poured her soul into letters to Higginson, the way Kurt Vonnegut revealed the purpose of the creative life in a note to a school, we will play the changes on what has become a literary manifesto with surprising power: the personal letter writ large. By combining the intimacy of private communication, the ease of conversation with a friend, and the long reach of the open letter, we will jot a suite of pages in this informal form. We will gather to write that letter you have been drafting in your mind, that message to someone gone, that letter poem, letter to embed in your novel, or note to a friend you had forgotten. Sample letters, prompts, and envelopes provided.