Intrepid commenter Kaitlin Michelle recently emailed me with an interesting proposal:
So I had this idea about a gothic-y pen pal service thing, because traditional letters are awesome…and the closest thing I found so far was geek girl international pen pal, which I did sign up for, but it isn’t the same type of people. I was wondering if I could scrounge up some rules/make a flyer/blog post or something if you would be interested in it, and if you would want to put something on your blog about it.
This struck me as a splendid idea, because traditional letters are awesome. Be honest: When was the last time you took the time to sit down and physically write a letter to somebody? When was the last time you found something in your mailbox besides bills and junk mail? Far too long, right? Time to change that!
Kaitlin’s idea of matching gothy people is especially great, not only because it’ll be fun to make new like-minded friends, but also because we’re just the sort to come over all Edgar Allan Poe with the handwritten missives and the thoughtful prose and, for all I know, the quill pen and sealing wax.
I told her I’d be happy to help spread the word, so she sent me the copy below. Note that I am not involved in this venture other than as a messenger, so questions and comments should be directed to her sivleyk@gmail.com address. (I expect she’d probably answer questions in this post’s comment section as well.)
Love the night? Into The Cure, or Joy Division? Can’t stop re-reading Edgar Allen Poe or Dracula? Wish everyday was Halloween? Wish you had more friends that felt like you? Then it’s time to dust off those quills and bottles of ink, because we are going back to the lost art of letter writing (snail mail!), and we would like you to join in. All people of the night (13+) who love to send and receive letters in the old fashioned mail box are welcome to participate in our pen pal program.
All you need to do to sign up is email sivleyk@gmail.com with the subject header Pen Pal and a small description of yourself (including age & gender) and a small list of your Goth-y loves, and you will be paired with a pen pal match. We will then send you an email letting you know who your match is, and where you can write to them.
Only a letter or postcard is required, but want to do more than just write? Why not! Add some Goth flair to your mail, and throw in some bat doodles, provide a playlist of your favorite dark songs, add a little Halloween decoupage, or chunk in some Edward Gorey stickers. The list of things you could do to nighten up your mail is endless! Have fun and create something fantastic!
Try to mail your pen pal within 2 weeks of being matched, but if life gets in the way, send them an email letting them know they will get your letter soon.
If you don’t feel comfortable giving out your address right away, get to know each other first by emailing/chatting/or facebooking.
Aside from anything you aren’t allowed to mail normally, (like liquids, live animals or hazardous materials) we also ask that you not send religious or political propaganda, business solicitations, and offensive or pornographic material.
We cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any contact of any kind made between you. We do hope you use common sense, and if you decide you feel uncomfortable giving your address out, don’t.