I enjoyed Charles Simic’s essay on the lost art of postcard writing, in the New York Review of Books Blog. He writes, “Until a few years ago, hardly a day would go by in the summer without the mailman bringing a postcard from a vacationing friend or acquaintance.”
He divides postcard writers into two camps: people who sent pictures of the most famous landmarks at their location, and people who look for quirky, unexpected images, like “a card with a picture of a roadside diner in Iowa, the biggest hog at some state fair in the South, and even a funeral parlor touting the professional excellence that their customers have come to expect over a hundred years. Almost every business in this country, from a dog photographer to a fancy resort and spa, had a card.”
It was always a challenge deciding what to write. It had to be short, but you didn’t want it to be too conventional. And if you were sending out a bunch of cards, should they say the same thing? And if you bought the cards but didn’t get around to mailing them, was it better to forget the whole thing or to post them from home (my preferred option)?
I guess now we have Twitter and Facebook to serve the same function, but I’d still prefer to get a postcard showing the façade of Bob & Sue’s World Famous Diner featuring a blurry Sue forcing a giant smile as she stands pointing up at their sign.
Who in your life would enjoy the surprise of getting a postcard? Why not send them one?
