The clack of a typewriter. The flow of a pen across paper. The fact someone thought about you while they wrote you a real piece of mail. That’s what Sissy Cross and I talked about one Saturday morning recently. Sissy is the founder and creator of the Lone Star Letter Writers group, which meets once a month in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas to create written correspondence.

In this episode, Sissy tells us about how she created Lone Star Letter Writers, how she views written communication, what kind of pen she uses when she writes, and how she tracks her writing data (you have to listen to that part!). And we talk about neuroscience. Yep, Sissy is a neuroscientist by day and a Lone Star Letter Writer by night. Sounds like the makings of a comic book hero to me.

Here’s a list of topics we cover on in the show:

Cool ideas and Clubs: Lone Star Letter Writers; Austin Typewriter, Ink; ATI: The Podcast; Egg Press — Write On

Writing Instruments: Standard Issue Supplies Pens; Blackwing Pencils; Olympia SM-9 typewriter

Books: Dear Data by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec; Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

People: Sara; Diane; Russ

Oh…and neuroscience

This jam-packed show features Heidi Belinksy, the owner and proprietor of Max & Co Post. We cover the gamut in this show — from antique postcards to writing postcards to the business of selling modern postcards. 

Russ Romano and I did a live radio show from Love Hearts Project‘s love letter writing event. Love was in the air.

This was the second annual event put on by Alex Krohn, the creator of Love Hearts Project. We sat down with Alex, and a number of people who were at the event writing postcard love letters. Hundreds upon hundreds of love letter postcards were written and sent. Want to feel the love? Here you go.

Alex Krohn, Frank Roche and Russ Romano record Episode 55 of The Postcardist Podcast at the Love Hearts Project’s love letter writing day.

Follow @loveheartsproject on Instagram

Some of the Love Hearts Project postcards

Frank Roche, Alex Krohn and Russ Romano by the hand-crafted sign for The Postcardist Podcast at the Love Hearts Project

What’s the first fairy tale you remember hearing as a child? And do you know fairy tales are told to you throughout your life?

In this episode, we hear from the world’s preeminent scholar on fairy tales — the author and postcard collector Jack Zipes, who wrote the fabulous coffee table book Tales of Wonder: Retelling Fairy Tales Through Picture Postcards. Jack is the author numerous books, including the definitive translations of two version of the Brothers Grimm tales.

In this episode, Jack Zipes talks about how he started his postcard collection by wandering into a paper and ephemera show in Paris; how he pursued his fairy tale postcard collection; and the discussion that led him to donate his unique collection to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. His extensive collection of 3000+ postcards can be seen at the Weisman Art Museum in an exhibition until July 7, 2019.

I sent 147 postcards in the first two weeks of January. The same postcard titled 1967: A Memoir. I had written a short story that was 3,534 words long and 147 paragraphs. So, what would any writer do? Sit down one night with a list of recipients and a random number generator…and get writing.

This show is my observations about what happened. Peoples’ reactions about everything from my handwriting to the stamps to the story. It’s about how much ambiguity people can handle. And it’s about engaging in a story in a deep way. A special shoutout goes to Diane C., who watched the story unfold over the weeks of January and assembled it in order from its misbegotten roots.

And after the results, you’ll hear me narrate Frankie Got Shot. Just another little experiment on The Postcardist Podcast.

Coming up in February are Jack Zipes, the author of Tales of Wonder: Retelling Fairy Tales Through PicturePostcards; Heidi Belinsky from Max & Co Post; and Sissy Cross from Lone Star Letter Writers. Plus…I might just have a little bonus episode coming up for you midweek this week.

Thanks a bunch for listening to the show.

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