A review by coric
Air Mail: Letters of Politics, Pandemics and Place by Amy Irvine, Pam Houston

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad

5.0

 

Reading Amy Irvine and Pam Houston’s deeply personal correspondence almost feels like an invasion of privacy until you remind yourself that historians have always relied upon letters and journals to explore and understand our past. Instead, we should be grateful for this rare invitation to follow the development of a genuine friendship in the 21st century developed through mailed letters sent back and forth across the Continental Divide. Despite all our technology and options for connections, it is a lovely reminder that putting pen to paper allows for deeper thought and reflection while still providing an unscripted and unfiltered authenticity you don’t often get today. It was enchanting to watch the formation of what will be a long and powerful friendship, and I want to be part of their women warrior battalion. A year later, their poignant observations about the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine seems both distant and present. We’ve been provided with a gift that marks and reflects on the state of our world and politics alongside the events of our most recent history. This small but powerful publication is a bright light in a horrific year and proof that some good things resulted from our Great Pause.