From the Editor
Last week I attended a wonderful talk on Letters in the Age of Speed: Has the Form Changed, or the Essence? which took place at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library
The panel featured three writers who discussed the importance and influence of letter writing in their personal life and in their work.
Novelist Avni Doshi described how her first interaction with letters was from the story of her parents sending each other love letters before they were married. She had wondered what her parents thought of each other’s handwriting. Writer and poet Deeba Salim Irfan detailed how the actual act of sitting and holding a pen and thinking about how your recipient would receive your words can really help you connect with other people as well as with yourself. While author Daniela Tully spoke about the difference between letter writing and today’s digital means of communication.
“I’ve received many letters that have made me think. I’ve never received a WhatsApp that’s made me think,” she said.
The talk made me think about my own relationship with letter writing.
From those secret letters many Iraqis would send back to the motherland through the trusted hands of travellers to the first letters I wrote to childhood friends when I migrated to New Zealand, as well as epistolary novels that greatly influenced me like The Colour Purple and Dangerous Liaison.
Those early exposures to letter writing also greatly influenced how the stories I wanted to explore in my own novel writing.
Why do words on paper, the physical act of pouring oneself through ink intended for only one person feel incredibly intimate, romantic, significant, and most of all, more precious than an email.
I’m aware that by describing this through a newsletter, who some might claim is a modern way to send letters, is ironic. And I would also like to point out that while letters and emails are definitely not the same, and the intention behind a letter and a newsletter are also vastly different, I do feel that one can be as open and vulnerable in a newsletter.
It perhaps, will never feel as personal as opening an envelope and unfolding a window that reveals the traces of someone’s thoughts, feelings and experiences marked on paper, but there is still a soul here in this digital interface.
While I cannot give that exact experience through The Culturalist, I do believe that modern forms of letter writing from WhatsApp voice notes to newsletters and essays can feel, at least in their tone, in the honesty of the writer, just as powerful.
For me here at The Culturalist, I am as thoughtful as my overthinking brain can be about the curation (I’m so sick of that word) of stories, of culture through my lens, my interests, my voice, to share with all of you.
And so, this week I discuss as per usual the many facets of culture that fascinate me and are relevant in the world right now.
It’s not a handwritten letter, but it’s definitely always from the heart.
Enjoy,
Maan Jalal
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One of the most interesting arguments for, well, stealing ideas.
Robert Shore’s delightful coffee table-esque book is full of ideas and nuggets about the art of “stealing” art.
Throughout the chapters he challenges the culture of originality and the idea that the artist is responsible for inventing something entirely new. Nothing I believe has stunted the creative flow more than that silly notion.
Shore sites plenty of artists who borrow, copy, quote, appropriate, remix, reappropriate existing art, images and cultural material to create something unique. The book asks the question of where the boundaries lie between influence and homage, appreciation versus plagiarism, and, in fact, whether or not we should have these boundaries at all.
One List Thing…
This Week’s Quote
With the death of the writer and activist Gloria Steinem the newsfeeds have been inundated with quotes by her.
And while there are so many to choose from that speak of her work, legacy, and beliefs, I found this one most interesting. It speaks to the concept that I’ve always felt more aligned with when it comes to how culture works – there is not one but many, who inspire many more.
“People are always asking me, ‘Who will you pass the torch to?’ The question makes me angry. There is no one torch – there are many torches – And I’m using my torch to light other torches.”
This Week’s Question
Given that I’ve been thinking a lot about letter writing as a way to connect and a medium of creativity, it only makes sense that I pose this question to you:
When was the first time a letter felt important to you? Why?
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As always thank you for your continued support and subscribing to The Culturelist.
See you next week,
Maan Jalal