In Writing with Hattie Crisell S4 Ep40: Shaun Usher, curator of correspondence
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Nov 26, 2021 Shaun Usher shares how a chance letter-writing tradition with his wife inspired a career collecting remarkable correspondence. Hear about his hunt for a lost Stephen King letter, a hilariously furious airline complaint, and the research behind Letters of Note and its live shows. Plus, why handwritten letters can reveal unexpected sides of the people who wrote them.
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Love Blossomed Through Handwritten Letters
- Shaun fell in love with his now-wife by exchanging physical letters while she was in Spain, which sparked his passion for correspondence.
- They consciously chose letters over calls or early email in 2001, and the medium accelerated intimate revelations between them.
Pen And Paper Forces Deeper Thought
- The physical act of writing forces you to slow down and think, activating a different part of the brain than email or social media.
- Shaun says loading a typewriter or putting pen to paper makes writers reveal things faster and more honestly than instant digital messages.
Crowdfunding Launched The First Book
- Shaun crowdfunded the first Letters of Note with Unbound because he already had an online audience and wanted both funding and a publishing partner.
- He later paired the crowd-funded special edition with a trade edition via Canongate.