COMMENTARY: The return of the handwritten letter

COMMENTARY: The return of the handwritten letter By Tom Purcell, Cagle Cartoons Newspaper Syndicate September 2, 2026 - 9:00 pm Younger generations are sparking a revival of handwritten correspondence. According to Business Insider, Gen Z and millennials, weary of the hollowness of digital life, are leading a full‑blown letter‑writing renaissance. They are joining snail‑mail and pen‑pal clubs, exchanging addresses on TikTok and Instagram, and spending time composing and decorating envelopes. Many deliberately wait weeks for a reply, valuing the tactile quality that electronic messages cannot replicate. Digital tools have expanded my ability to stay in touch with more friends than traditional letters ever allowed. I can locate long‑lost acquaintances on social media and reconnect through email. The online world has also helped me meet new acquaintances. A while back I called a writer at a major‑city newspaper whom I had never spoken with. I phoned to share my column; we talked briefly and he agreed to review samples of my work. A few weeks later he began editing my piece for the publication he oversees. Early on we exchanged emails about the story and writing in general. One evening he sent me an instant message. We chatted back and forth electronically for an extended period and have remained friends for more than two decades. Still, nothing compares to receiving a handwritten note from an old friend. I have kept every letter I have ever received, storing them in a large cardboard box in my attic. About twelve years ago, when I moved back to Pittsburgh from Washington, D.C., I was transferring items into storage and came across the box again. Inside I found a letter I had received in 1985, a year after I graduated from college. It came from a classmate at Penn State who later took a position in Bangor, Maine. The note was written on a light‑blue exam booklet, filled with wit and humor. Reading it that Saturday, roughly twelve years ago, transported me fifteen years back to the person I was at twenty‑three. I laughed out loud. I spent hours rereading the dozens of letters I had accumulated over the years. It was striking how much experience I had lived through and then forgotten. What began as the mundane task of organizing storage turned into one of the most uplifting Saturdays of my life. A few years earlier, while sorting office files, I uncovered a letter my grandfather had written in 1924. He addressed it to his best friend’s wife, offering condolences on the loss of her mother. His phrasing and sentence structure were pure eloquence, and his cursive handwriting was immaculate—clean, precise penmanship. What astonished me was how closely it resembled my father’s flawless handwriting, which he had mastered under the strict tutelage of Catholic nuns in the 1940s. Although I appreciate email, text messages and cellphones, I treasure handwritten letters. The resurgence of this practice, driven by Gen Z and millennials, is a positive step. Recognition that the warmth of ink on paper outweighs the cold glow of a screen is well deserved. Everyone should follow their lead. Pick up a good ballpoint pen, select some parchment, and write to an old friend. When that note arrives in the mail, it will deliver a surge of cheerful energy we could all use more of today.