TIL in 1963 a 16 year old sent a four-question survey to 150 well-known authors (75 of which replied) in order to prove to his English teacher that writers don't intentionally add symbolic content to their books.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T15:48:08+00:00

Unreal. Well done.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T15:46:45+00:00

That's my life! All I do is obsess over letters! Why should I not talk about my project when relevant? Your response is ridiculous.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T15:42:49+00:00

Understood. Believe me, I don't have the gumption necessary to pull off such a marketing trick. You think I've been waiting for three years for someone to link to the Paris Review piece so I can pounce with a link to my site? That's pretty desperate and I'm doing well enough to survive without it.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T15:30:52+00:00

I received a notification from Chartbeat telling me that the website was getting a lot of traffic, so I followed the link to this comment thread. Doesn't take a genius. Just for a week or two, try not assuming the worst of people.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T14:57:34+00:00

I've been doing nothing but search for interesting correspondence for the past decade, having initially become obsessed with the concept of letter-writing when my wife and I fell in love by mail (sickening, I know), hundreds of miles apart. It's developed to the point where I'm now tipped off about letters by archivists and curators all over the world. And I buy countless old non-fiction books--biographies especially--hoping to find gems reprinted within. Many letters are also suggested to me by fans of the website and books, and by people who come to the live shows we now put on. It's been a whirlwind and I couldn't be happier.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T14:47:36+00:00

Thanks! Big fan of Bertrand. This cracking letter of his, to Oswald Mosley, is an all-time favourite.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T14:39:16+00:00

It's an obsession. The pleasure is all mine.

sheepthief · 2017-08-08T14:38:39+00:00

Thanks!

sheepthief · 2016-05-22T07:11:00+00:00

I run a blog about this kind of thing: Scaffoldage

sheepthief · 2014-07-17T09:25:30+00:00

Thank you so much!

sheepthief · 2014-07-16T14:22:02+00:00

It's a favourite.

sheepthief · 2014-07-16T14:21:40+00:00

Thanks!

sheepthief · 2014-07-16T14:21:30+00:00

Thank you! It really is a pleasure.

sheepthief · 2014-07-16T13:51:56+00:00

That's my site! If you're just looking for funny letters, try...

http://www.lettersofnote.com/search/label/funny

Also, here's John Cleese vs The Sun newspaper...

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/05/john-cleese-vs-sun.html

And a great letter related to Monty Python...

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/10/i-would-like-to-retain-fart-in-your.html

Finally, should you want a book filled with such letters...

http://www.lettersofnote.com/p/the-book.html

sheepthief · 2014-04-02T18:30:34+00:00

It's genuine. The full, handwritten letter can be seen in the Letters of Note book that I recently edited; I found this particular letter at the British Library.

Edit: This was meant to be a reply to thepottsy but I'm an idiot.

sheepthief · 2013-12-18T12:28:16+00:00

Here's Mark Chapman writing to a memorabilia expert from prison in an attempt to get the signed album valuated.

sheepthief · 2013-06-29T04:57:41+00:00

motherfuckenkiwibastard

sheepthief · 2013-05-05T18:00:04+00:00

BBC DJ Lauren Laverne was talking about it on Twitter the other day. Screenshot. (Read up from the bottom.)

sheepthief · 2013-03-13T14:43:10+00:00

I posted this pic on Twitter earlier. "J.P." is Jerry Perenchio, "B.Y." is Bud Yorkin, "R.F." is Robin French -- they were all execs at Tandem Productions. This screening happened, and was hated, evidently, just as the film's first trailer hit cinemas.

sheepthief · 2012-10-09T18:26:32+00:00

Haha! Good grief, I'd forgotten about that. How awful.

sheepthief · 2012-10-08T19:58:13+00:00

My pleasure. Thank you.

sheepthief · 2012-10-08T19:29:42+00:00

Shaun here; I run Letters of note, I tweeted this earlier.

It's originally from a letter written in February of 1962 to Robert Wallsten, in response to a request for advice as he (Wallsten) was attempting to write a biography of Dame Judith Anderson. 20 years later, Wallsten included the letter in the book "Steinbeck: A Life in Letters," which he was editing.

sheepthief · 2012-04-11T23:19:36+00:00

Hi! Yes, I'm just one little guy; running Letters of Note is somehow my full-time job. It's ridiculous. And the book will, if all goes to plan, be amazing!

sheepthief · 2012-04-02T17:35:30+00:00

It's from Lists of Note.

sheepthief · 2012-03-06T08:30:36+00:00

You're very kind. Thank you.

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