For thousands of years, letters have played an essential role in history. The first handwritten letter was sent by the Persian Queen Atossa in approximately 500 BC. As more individuals became literate, their significance as a means of communication expanded. Although modern methods of communication have mostly replaced the personal letter, it remains dear to our hearts. Something letters in the post would be more inspiring and empowering to them than a text, tweet, or Facebook message.

Marcus Rashford, ‘To all MP’s in Parliament’

Marcus Rashford is a Manchester United striker who became the country’s youngest player to score a goal in 2016. His letter to MPs in June 2020 forced the government to reverse its intentions to suspend school meals for underprivileged children over the summer, which was an incredible achievement. Rashford was applauded for his brave deed, demonstrating how letter writing and social media pressure can make a significant difference today.

Listen to your desires by Steve Vai

From professional guitarist Steve Vai, who has toured with Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth. The urge to learn to play an instrument must originate from within. You should not wait for a letter or approval from anyone else before deciding to play. You either don’t want to or are compelled to do so by your heart.

Charles Darwin’s letter introducing the idea of evolution and natural selection

Charles Darwin wrote a lot of letters. He wrote around 1,400 letters to his best buddy, botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker. In January 1844, Darwin wrote to Hooker that he was starting to become convinced that species were not “immutable”. He then goes on to add that the thought that creatures can evolve over time was nearly like “confessing a crime”. 

James Baldwin, The fire next time

The Fire Next Time is made up of two letter essays: one sent to Baldwin’s 14-year-old grandson on the 100th anniversary of ‘Independence,’ and another dealing with the connections among both race and religion. The Fire Next Time, in Baldwin’s exquisite manner, is a masterclass in letter writing and must reading for those new to the concerns important to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Gandhi writes to Hilter to stop war

During the events leading up to World War II, Gandhi addressed two letters to Adolf Hitler, pleading with him to act as the “one person in the world who can prevent a war.”

Most letters are legacies, intimate writings in which we are transparent to the writer’s thoughts and emotions, and impersonal letters in which they honor history and culture. We have lost the force and purity of words in today’s age of texting and emailing when only important information counts.