Don’t tell Karen Benke that handwriting is obsolete.
The California author of “Write Back Soon,” a new book about the joys of sending and receiving mail, says people can connect to a “deeper part” of themselves through letter writing.
“The motion of our hands as we write really calms the nervous system; it forges creative connections and keeps our minds sharp,” Benke told TheStar.com news site last week.
Benke joins the Wysox, PA, Post Office team and others who are trying to preserve the art of letter writing.
This isn’t an American phenomenon. Toronto artist Lindsay Zier-Vogel also sees value in handwritten letters.
Her Love Letter Project, a campaign to help people rediscover writing by hand, has spread to other cities around the world.
“You get a sense of who a person is based on their handwriting,” Zier-Vogel told TheStar.com. “My handwriting is terrible but there’s something about [it that’s] mine.”
These efforts underscore the continued need for mail, according to greeting card designer Dani Kreeft.
“The busier and busier we get, the more valuable mail gets, because there’s more thought in there,” Kreeft said.