Snail Mail Writing List

[Carrie]

I have posted on this topic in the past, but I thought I'd post a quick update as there's so many people joined FPN since I last posted. I'm 33, single and share my life with two rescue dogs, a Labrador Cross and a tripod Lurcher. I work in a museum and have an interest in archaeology and history. I also enjoy photography and that often forms part of my work as well. Other interests include walking, reading and watching motorsport. I love to spend time out in the countryside and visiting historic sites. Another hobby is genealogy - when I can find enough time for it - I'm busy chasing a farming family in Lancashire and Staffordshire and another couple of branches of my family back to Kidderminster and Ireland.

As for pens I'll be using, mostly Conway Stewart or Parker and a mix of vintage and modern. My letters are written on an 1880s ebony and mother of pearl writing box or a 1930s oak bureau.

[Rincewind]

PS...

 

I have now acquired some very magical Discworld postage stamps from the Unseen University post office, so my first few correspondents can expect a very interesting first envelope!

 

- Rincewind

 

I'm an English writer, historian and photographer (the last two are primarily my "day job"). Single, aged 48 and with two elderly parents and a Beagle hound to look after.

 

I've had numerous hobbies over the years and I still keep an interest in many things historical or scientific. Lately, however, my primary spare-time focus is on reading, researching and writing fantasy stories. My interest in fountain pens ties in with my writing activities.

 

Amongst various pens I own one or two Italian LE's such as an Omas Galileo Galilei. I have a small range of Parker 51's from First Year to Aerometric, which I use as daily writers or for post cards. I also own a Nakaya Tamenuri 'long cigar' clipless pen, and have a Danitrio Mikado Tamenuri clipless on order from windedoc; these Zen-like Japanese pens are primarily for first drafts of stories and journalling and reside safely in my writing bureau.

 

My five favourite fantasy writers are: JRR Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, though I enjoy all original and well-crafted fantasy, dark fantasy and gothic stories from the 19th century to the present day. I also enjoy quality science fiction.

 

I'd be particularly interested in corresponding with fellow fantasy readers and writers.

 

- Stuart

 

(formerly TheTimeTraveller)

[Songwind]

I am interested in having a pen pal. I never have before.

 

I'm an American computing professional living in Minneapolis. I am the father (in various senses of the word) of three girls and one little boy. When I am not working, I like to write SF&F, draw, and work on my website.

 

I first received a fountain pen as a graduation gift, but only recently really got deeply interested in them. It happened as an outgrowth of my writing, with a tangential association with my drawing. My eventual aim to to become proficient in the pen-and-ink drawing realm.

 

I'm happy to correspond with overseas friends, though exactly that costs these days might dictate some of its frequency.

 

Looking forward to hear from you,

Eric H.

[ginigin]

Here's a brief bit about me for snail mailing. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA in a small farming community on a mountain top plateau near the Blue Ridge Parkway. My house is surrounded by woods, so neighbors include deer, racoons, possums, the passing coyote, footprint only bobcats, and lots of squirrels and birds. There are a couple of pileated woodpeckers that swoop through the trees fairly close to the house and some big reds that feed on suet right on the porch. I have too much shade to grow a real garden, so these days it's mostly perennials and some herbs. Oh, I fogot Mr. Gopher, he likes to eat my garden. My cat, Shadow, seems to think all the wild critters are either friends to play with or something to chase. He's had a near miss with a racoon and recently ended up a 30 foot tall tree for a day, but doesn't seem to rate in the guard cat department.

 

When I'm not watching birds while journaling or drooling over pens online, I am a licensed therapist specializing in children and families. I also am a court certified mediator and work pro bono for a local community mediation center. I've been involved in environmental activism as an ombudsman or facilitating multi-stakeholder issues. I am also a licensed instructor and consultant for Brain Gym (an educational therapy).

 

I've always loved pens and art supplies. My first aha moment was when I drew a circle at an early age. I also remember being excited when I drew a straight line that was actually straight. I used to fondle my uncles fountain pens that were put away up in the attic, so I suppose that was the beginning of my addiction to vintage pens. About 4 years ago I saw Waterman's Serenite on the cover of Pen World and fell in love with it. That was my first modern pen, other than Sheaffer and Parker student pens. I am more user than collector, though I have some vintage pens that don't work and are just pretty. I like odd nibs and want to learn Spencerian script ... trying to find the right nib for that. Newest cool nib is Sailor's brush nib pen.

 

I love to read (sci-fi mostly as well as arts and crafts books or professional type stuff and Anthroposophy), garden, write with fountain pens, play with my cat, and visit my son, the librarian. My son is also a gamer and is teaching me lots of cool board and card games. I don't sit still well for the video games, though I can bowl a fairly good game on the wii.

 

Places I've lived: SC, VA, ME, VT, HI and PEI Canada. Places I want to visit: Greece, the British Isles and any beach anywhere

 

Would love to exchange postcards or cards in various colors of ink and nib sizes!

[srbuckingham]

Ok- I’m in I would love to exchange letters with other people and find a way to use my fountain pens more. It will also give me a good excuse to purchase more.

 

I am in my mid fifties and happily married. I live in central Arkansas with my wife and our two Llewellyn setters Lady and Buster. I currently work for a company that is going on 200 years old in customer service and trying to make sure we last a little while longer. If you are really brave and want to know what a person living in the south thinks that was raised in the north (Iowa) then I might be the guy. With my current schedule I can’t say a fellow writer will get a full letter back but they will get a reply. I am working really hard to improve my penmanship and it may not be pretty but I think a person will be able to read it. I am a firm believer in the computer but nothing will ever take the place of a hand written letter.

 

 

[punch]

Anyone feel reticent about writing to a member of the opposite sex if one is married?

Good idea to get spouse's approval?

Now play:

:roflmho:

 

Probably a good idea to let the spouse know what you are up to. My wife does not mind since most of my pen pals (3 out of 4) are overseas, and 2 of the 4 are men. Since all of my friends are electric (sorry, I am a Numanoid - nearly all of the people I am close to are on the computer), my wife finds it refreshing that I actually have friends to write to. She says that I need "real" friends, too. I am sure that I would need a higher level of permission if those included women

[Songwind]

Probably a good idea to let the spouse know what you are up to. My wife does not mind since most of my pen pals (3 out of 4) are overseas, and 2 of the 4 are men. Since all of my friends are electric (sorry, I am a Numanoid - nearly all of the people I am close to are on the computer), my wife finds it refreshing that I actually have friends to write to. She says that I need "real" friends, too. I am sure that I would need a higher level of permission if those included women

 

Do you feel the need to get permission before talking to women online?

 

I've always been curious in a puzzled way about this sort of thing. I have always had women friends, and my wife, men friends. It just seems weird to think that she wouldn't.

 

[nihilistpancake]

I, too, would love to find someone to correspond with.

 

I am Angela, 23, of Vancouver, Canada. My interests include living anachronistically, pretending to be a time traveler, and mapping the cats of my neighbourhood. I love mid-century modern design, french new wave film, and modernist literature. Yes, I am in love with the 20th century and was sad to see it go, but I am also anxiously awaiting the exciting developments of this one, such as the flying car (!).

 

I've just finished my BSc in Computing Science with a minor in philosophy. I've also a keen interest in linguistics, particularly etymology, but have only a very little scholarly background in it.

 

It need be said that I have just this week acquired my first fountain pen, but am eager to do fantastically exciting things with it, so please drop me a line if you are interested in corresponding.

[SquelchB]

So, my name is Bohdan, I live in the Czech Republic, 19 years old. Started to be interested in FP's couple years ago, but I've really gone crazy after discovering the FPN

[ihappen]

Hi, I'm ihappen (Kieran), 17(till June!). I'm a college student currently studying History, Chemistry, Religious Studies, Biology and Philosophy all at AS. Though I was brought up writing with fountain pens I'm relativity new to all the more complex side of it and still am quite mystified by it all! Mainly I'm interested in Inks as I'm attracted to colorful and shiny things in general!

 

My Current Pen's are all Lamy safari with the exception of one Caran dAche Dunas. My main writing pen however is a treasured safari, which has to date manage to survive an awful lot including being totally submerged in mild acid, dropped from great heights, being buried alive and writing far too many essays!.

 

My hobby's are reading, going places, growing things, particularly carnivorous plants and the odd orchid and music, particularly rock and opera!

 

Would love to hear from anyone anywhere!

 

Yours, Kez

Edited April 25, 2008 by ihappen

[punch]

Probably a good idea to let the spouse know what you are up to. My wife does not mind since most of my pen pals (3 out of 4) are overseas, and 2 of the 4 are men. Since all of my friends are electric (sorry, I am a Numanoid - nearly all of the people I am close to are on the computer), my wife finds it refreshing that I actually have friends to write to. She says that I need "real" friends, too. I am sure that I would need a higher level of permission if those included women

 

Do you feel the need to get permission before talking to women online?

 

I've always been curious in a puzzled way about this sort of thing. I have always had women friends, and my wife, men friends. It just seems weird to think that she wouldn't.

 

Depends on the individual situation. The end of one of my wife's friend's marriage started with an "online" relationship.

 

Also, I do not have a history of having "women friends". Likewise, my wife does not have a history of having "man friends". I would not blame her for being somewhat interested if after 27 years (the time we have been married) I suddenly started getting closer to another women. It is not a matter of permission. It is a matter of having enough love and respect for her that I keep her informed of most of my life activities. We communicate quite well, and there is not much that I do that she is unaware of, nor much that she does that I am not aware of. In a very open and honest relationship, a sudden shift towards secrecy would be something to be concerned about.

[Milsurp]

Hey all, Jon here. I've always had an interest in the lost art of penmanship and would like to work on my crappy handwriting. I'm a college student studying industrial engineering. My hobbies and interests are: firearms (many sub-hobbies here), attempted fabrication (woodworking, metal working, leather working, etc., these are my beater hobbies), outdoorsy type stuff, music, the occasional video game, history, old-timey ways of doing things(in example, preserving meat without the use of refrigeration is on my list of things to do before I die), et al. I'm in Indiana by the way.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Milsurp

[gwcisco]

Hello everyone! This is Gary and I'm in North East Arkansas (West Memphis area). I am new to fountain pens. Currently, I am more of an admirer of them rather than a user. I hope to change that with your help. Here's a little bit of info about me: I'm 27 years old and I currently work for a school district in their IT department. I have two dogs, one is a pit bull and the other, well let's just say he's mix and loves to fetch (I've always wanted a dog that will fetch). I've found myself reading historical fiction, history, and science. I don't watch much TV but I do; however, watch japanese anime, foreign films and romantic comedies (please, don't laugh). I do have a blog although it is not updated often, yet you may visit it if you would like to know more about me. The link to the blog is posted in my signature. Until then, may your pen continue to dance!

[letterset25]

I'm also up for some snail mailling. I love to write letters and would be willing to try getting some.

 

I'm a 31 year old carpenter, about to get married. When I'm not building concrete buildings I like to make furniture (especially craftsman style), fix up old houses, read (mostly the classics and history, especially 20th century and military history from 39-45), take photos (I shoot with a Nikon F2 and englarge with a Bessey) and other things that escape me at the moment. I like to travel, but who doesn't? My two favorite are Japan and France.

 

I used to use a Waterman rollerball and then switched to ultra fine Japanese pens and now I'm moving into fountain pens. Right now I won't have much in terms of pens and ink colours, but I'm really interested in Noodler's inks and I hope to increase my versatility soon. I write mostly on crazy Japanese stationery and I love wax seals; I currently only have one with on en route. As my finances allow I hope to expand my seal selection.

 

Je comprend aussi un petit peut de francais et je voudrais faire des lettres en francais si il y a quelq'un qui peut me comprendre. Mes verbes et eppelation et tres mauvais.

 

jeremy

[Eltea]

My name is Tereza, I'm 17 and I'm from the Czech republic. I would like to learn about other cultures and about FPs

 

[gooddog]

My name is Beth, I'm a 39y/o, SWF in Central Arkansas, USA.

 

I'm a veterinary technician and professional obedience trainer, avid reader of almost every genre, and believe in a "constant learning" lifestyle. I'm willing to visit about almost everything.

[DeaconKC]

Hello, I'm Kevin, 46, married and a collector of old guns and fountain pens. Moderator at Surplusrifle.com and play Battletech. Never had a pen-pal, but am always interested in meeting new folks.

[Askaniclan]

First-time mom whose husband is SO not convinced about the wisdom of purchasing things that don't require plugs and electrical outlets, or cost more than they should, like fountain pens. Signing up for this in the quest to collect proof that others who write letters with fountain pens also exist. Will admire their handiwork. Misses handwritten snailmail. Never received snailmail written with a fountain pen! Looking forward to saying, "Hah!" to husband with letters on hand (when son -- first time mom! -- is grown and are old doddering seniors continuing to argue about pros and cons of fountain pens in retirement home).

 

Anybody interested writing to China?

 

I like writing with a fountain pen; this does not necessarily guarantee I have beautiful penmanship. Interests include pop music in the 20th century, mythology (Asian, Indo-European and a bit of Native American), e. e. cummings, the works of George Lucas before he focused on marketing his special effects toys, comicbooks, aaaand... kiddie shows from the 80s (thank you, Hollywood, for Transformers! Now please make me proud with Speed Racer and GI Joe, and hoping you get around bringing back Votron, Defender of The Universe!).

 

Yes, topics or tone may sometimes have a noo-nee-noo feel.

 

Other interests mentioned in Member Profile. Afflicted with indecision to chuck my IBM for a Macbook Pro. Prefers Coke to Pepsi. Day to day happenings (did I mention I was a first time mom?), a bit of politics, and points to ponder sometimes also find their way to ink on paper, however, for the sake of diplomacy, tolerance levels of pen pals are always taken into consideration.

Edited June 19, 2008 by Askaniclan

[feiye]

Actually using all those pens I've accumulated to write something? What a fantastic idea.

 

I'm from Sydney, Australia, were pen aficionados are few and far between (they all decided to take up residence in Melbourne it seems ) I'd like an excuse to further help the "improvement and development" of my handwriting (which has gone from illegible to passable in the last year or so).

[vespista]

Hi! I'm a 41 year old Swede who's a born-again FP user that makes a living as a typographer, which nowadays means that he's spent too much of his time in front of a computer for longer than he cares to think about. It also means that his penmanship isn't actually perfect, seeing as he's holding one of the few occupations thinkable that requires little or no writing.

 

As part of trying to take my life a bit more 'off-line', or 'real' if you prefer, I was hoping to change that, and figured that a perfect way would be to start corresponding with people by means of the almost extinct art of writing letters. The real kind that goes from someone's mind through their hand and fountain pen (presumably) onto paper, into an envelope that gets stamped, hopefully making it through some postal services and ends up in your mailbox (not the virtual type mind you).

 

As far as interests are concerned I'm really interested in (and, yes, I know it sounds kind of corny) communication in all forms ... words, design, typography (obviously), music, pictures, craftsmanship, meetings with people and so on. Hereby I also enjoy reading, writing, languages, travelling and learning about things and people near and far. I also love scooting around on my Vespa (as you might be able to tell from the nickname) and of course a few other things that I seem to be unable to think of at the moment.

 

Hoping to hear from you.