Travelling Letters on the Subway

The art of writing letters starts in the 6th century BC, over two millennia after the emergence of writing itself

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 10.04.2016, 14:16

The book ‘The History of Letters’ by Italian writer Mario-Ruggiero Lucci, endorses the idea put forth by Greek historian Hellanicos, which claims that the first letter ever sent was written by the daughter of Persian king Cyrus the Great. According to the book, the art of writing letters starts in the 6th century BC, over two millennia after the emergence of writing itself. However, this art form peaked in the 18th century, when it was even taught in school.

The modern era has made this art form obsolete, with the emergence of brief and to the point e-mail or mobile text messages. Brief is now the norm. Which is what makes unusual the undertaking of the Bucharest subway managers, which handed travelers hand written letters in sealed envelopes.

Evelyne Croitoru, head of the Metrorex press bureau, told us how that came to be: “Subway riders had a very pleasant surprise. Over 700 traveling letters with good thoughts, positive messages, meant to lift people’s spirits, were handed out. We worked with the ‘Art does not bite’ Association, a small group of volunteers who hand wrote the letters, which were placed in envelopes with a wax seal, with the message ‘Hand Forward the Joy’. The travelers were pleasantly surprised, they thanked us, someone told us that it was for the first time in their lives when they got a handwritten letter, others told us that our gesture made their day. In fact, it was the dialog that rewarded our effort.”

Travelers were glad of the surprise, as our interlocutor told us: “The subway became more than just a means of transportation, it became a symbol of harmony, of emotion, of the joy of living in a nicer way. This event is in its second edition. We were encouraged by the warmth with which the travelers received our messages last year. We loved the interest shown by the media, and we are convinced that the subway is a great venue for such events.”

The Bucharest metro has even more surprises in store, as Evelyne Croitoru told us: “We have more pleasant surprises in store for the travelers. One is the fourth edition of the Subway Classical Music Festival, which we also run with the ‘Art does not bite’ Association. We are talking about five days of live concerts in four major subway stations, which will delight the riders with tunes by Verdi, Mozart, Enescu and Strauss. Cristina Dobrescu and Loredana Munteanu are the architects and directors of the moments of joy we offer to the riders. We will provide details on a dedicated Facebook page.”

There were even more events in the subway, with readings, songs, and even tango. We asked Evelyne Croitoru where they got the idea of turning the subway into a place for culture: “We realized people enjoy it when you offer them more than just a ride. We learned from other European countries, we looked at other subway systems, how nice it is when there is a flash mob event. A makeshift orchestra shows up playing Ode to Joy or something else, then they discreetly walk away, and people are happy, they applaud, then go on their way, delighted with the moment. We also noticed that a lot of people riding the subway are sad, deep in their thoughts, are worried, and we wanted to provide them with a break. We did it in the previous editions of the Subway Classical Music Festival, with the Traveling Book event, we had public readings at the subway, we had pantomime theater with the Masca Theater, and many other activities aiming to bring joy into the hearts of travelers, at least for a few moments.”

We asked Evelyne Croitoru to read us a few of the messages in the traveling letters: “ ‘Dear traveler, life is full of challenges meant to put us to the test, with our strengths and our dreams, but be strong, remind people around you that they matter for you’. And here is another: ‘Dear traveler, you can keep this letter or hand it to a stranger in the city. Smile! Funnily enough, it works most of the time. In fact, almost every time. We wish you an excellent day! Signed: Metrorex.”

The Traveling Letters event brought good wishes to people on the subway, a promise to make their trip a bit more pleasant.