My name is Ghadah Alkandari and one of my favorite experiences in the world is finding a letter in my mailbox. I love letters. I love their tactility, their smell, and the little surprises they carry inside. And just how glorious is the sound of paper unfolding? I love licking stamps, sealing envelopes, pressing a BIC pen hard on cheap crinkly paper. Or a fountain pen on recycled parchment. It's all good. It's all accepted. And the excitement, no matter who the letter is from, is explosive.
Raw Epistle is about reviving the art of letter-writing. I know we don't have the most efficient and reliable postal system in this country but it does work (it's kinda like having an excruciatingly slow internet connection). And there's just one rule about Raw Epistle: we don't talk about Raw Epistle (re: Fight Club). I have made a pact with my current Raw Epistle comrades that until we get this ball of a blog rolling, we will need to maintain an electric mail correspondence. But after that, it will be strictly via snail mail. How's that for a lesson in patience and standing still.
On Raw Epistle, anyone can write to me. But I insist on commitment and beauty in all its forms. When I receive a letter from you, both the envelope and letter will be scanned and posted, as will the letter you receive from me. Needless to say, letters must maintain some degree of discretion.
Lastly, please spell my name right? The h at the end of my name is important to me, no matter how trivial it is to the other six billion people inhabiting this planet.