Writers and letter writers

 I’m a fan of letter writers. I think Roy Bedichek’s letters are among the minor wonders of literature. And I hope, before long, to at least dip into the letters of Oliver Sacks.

Sacks surprises people in many ways. The number of his letters surprised me. He wrote something like 35,000. His editor estimated they ran to 200,000 pages.

I’ve heard people talk of writer’s block as if it were a universal affliction, something experienced by every writer at some point. I think letter writers might be exempt — at least some of them.

• Sources: William M. Chase, “Tumult and sympathy: The letters of Oliver Sacks”; Commonweal, Aug. 7, 2025.

Oliver Sacks, Letters, edited by Kate Edgar; New York: Knopf, 2024.