“The Lonely Voice in Its Bathrobe: A Life of Letters” by Joan Frank (Fiction ’96)
Fiction alumn Joan Frank was recently featured in CRAFT with an excerpt from her book Late Work: A Literary Autobiography of Love, Loss, and What I Was Reading. Read an excerpt from “The Lonely Voice in Its Bathrobe: A Life of Letters” below:
The Lonely Voice in Its Bathrobe: A Life of Letters
What is it, finally, about letters?
Why does this old-fashioned form, even maimed and shrunken, volleyed mostly through ether now by countless devices, still squinch our chests to receive it—the way a wrapped gift makes us draw extra breath? Why can letters stop us, sidetrack us—anywhere, anytime—to command attention? Why are they irresistible?
To me—no exaggeration—letters are everything.
They pierce to the bone, the heart. They flirt. They agonize. They risk, wallow, forge.
They noodle. Galvanize. Grieve. Oh, do they grieve.
But they also revel, and reveal. They give something. Many somethings.
I give them nearly everything.
Continue reading here: Joan Frank | CRAFT
