George Bush Sr's dog got so fat in 1992 that he (Bush) sent this memo to all White House staff.
#InternationalDogDay
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In 1993 NY Post columnist Liz Smith wrote: "[Aretha Franklin] must know she’s too bosomy to wear such clothing, but she just doesn't care what we think, and that attitude is what separates mere stars from true divas.”
Aretha wrote to her...
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Emma Thompson writes to the producers of "Luck" re their hiring of John Lasseter, who recently left Disney/Pixar following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. latimes.com/entertainment/la…
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On this day in 1970, Charles Schulz replied to a 10-year-old kid who had asked “What makes a good citizen?"
ALT Dear Joel: I think it is more difficult these days to define what makes a good citizen than it has ever been before. Certainly all any of us can do is follow our own conscience and retain faith in our democracy. Sometimes it is the very people who cry out the loudest in favor of getting back to what they call “American Virtues” who lack this faith in our country. I believe that our greatest strength lies always in the protection of our smallest minorities. Sincerely yours, Charles M. Schulz
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RIP Ursula Le Guin.
Here she is in 1987, turning down an offer to blurb an all-male sci-fi anthology.
bit.ly/1LLC0t8
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"I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers." – Stephen Hawking, when asked about his IQ.
RIP x
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Dave Grohl turns 50 today. He's achieved plenty during his half-century--Nirvana, Foo Fighters, that lovely hair--but it's safe to say he peaked when he wrote to Cornwall Council.
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A suffragette writes to the Telegraph in 1913. #InternationalWomensDay bit.ly/1PmiLsO
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Ernest Hemingway on the apparent symbolism in his 1952 novel, 'The Old Man and the Sea'.
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Fascist Oswald Mosley was born 120yrs ago today. Here's Bertrand Russell telling him to shove it - a letter I've thought about a lot lately.
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"I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers." – Stephen Hawking, when asked about his IQ.
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Russia just made a mockery of the US election. Only a "fool" would think that's the sign of a good relationship.
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Ursula Le Guin turns down an offer to blurb an all-male sci-fi anthology. #InternationalWomensDay bit.ly/1LLC0t8
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Leonard Cohen's recent letter to his dying muse, Marianne Ihlen, takes on a new poignancy with the sad news of his death.
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RIP Terry Jones. I'll never forget him turning up at the launch party for the Letters of Note book in 2013 & then reading aloud this letter about Monty Python & the Holy Grail. I could barely process it. He was the loveliest man.
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Dorothy Parker, born on this day in 1893, informs her editor that she has writer's block.
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Michael, they're Nazis. And for the record, I'm VERY happy to lose followers who are Nazis and I'd prefer it if Nazis didn't buy my books.
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From 1976, the Attorney General of Alabama responding very succinctly to a white supremacist. lettersofnote.com/2012/11/ki…
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The great Dorothy Parker, who died 50 years ago today, informs her editor that she has writer's block.
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Remember when a drunk guy wrote to Denmark and asked if he could have Greenland, and Denmark replied.
(cc @realDonaldTrump)
imgur.com/gallery/7O1Q0
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Tragic. Grimacing as I imagine you, 51, drafting such a tragic tweet, then searching for a pic of Greta, 16, then hitting send. Your poor family.
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Amazing. Neil Armstrong responding to a teacher who was skeptical about the moon landing.
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No shit
Breaking: President Trump dictated 2015 letter his doctor wrote declaring him the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” says letter’s author Dr. Harold Bornstein. “He dictated that whole letter. I didn't write that letter," Bornstein told CNN’s @MarquardtA
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Happy birthday Ursula Le Guin, who once turned down an offer to blurb an all-male sci-fi anthology with this letter bit.ly/1LLC0t8
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Incredible letter to the Irish Times this week. Please take a moment.
(Thanks to the many people who have sent this to me.)
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Here's Prince Philip telling Spike Milligan he can't nudge anyone onto the honours list.
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Today marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. This letter was written by Vilma Grunwald, who gave it to a guard moments before she entered the gas chamber with her disabled son, John. It was addressed to her husband, Kurt, who'd been put to work elsewhere at the camp.
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On this day in 1899, E. B. White was born. He was, in my opinion, the greatest letter writer.
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It's June 10th, Maurice Sendak's birthday, which means I literally have no choice but to remind everyone of this.
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"I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything. One lives only to make blunders. I am going to write a little Book for Murray on orchids & today I hate them worse than everything so farewell & in a sweet frame of mind, I am
Ever yours"
—Charles Darwin, 1861
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Days after JFK died, the hospital to which he and his killer had been taken sent this memo to their staff.
(More: bit.ly/p3szSo)
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Burt Reynolds' letters to admirers are exactly how I imagined and this book is very special.
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Never forget: George Bush Sr's dog got so fat in 1992 that he (Bush) sent this memo to all White House staff.
#InternationalDogDay
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Stephen Hawking’s reply to The Face magazine when, in 1995, they asked him for an equation for time travel.
lettersofnote.com/2011/12/st…
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As all humans know, the greatest ever response to a legal threat was written in 1971, by Private Eye magazine. Concise, powerful, hilarious. A work of art.
Full exchange: lettersofnote.com/2013/08/ar…
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Alec Guinness, born on this day in 1914, writes to a friend as he begrudgingly prepares to shoot Star Wars.
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This Gene Wilder letter about Willy Wonka's outfit will forever be a favourite. bit.ly/LYQ9Sl
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On this day in 1962, Bertrand Russell told fascist leader Oswald Mosley to shove it.
Happy birthday to this unimprovable letter.
More info: lettersofnote.com/2016/02/ev…
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In 2010, Ruth Bader Ginsburg found a letter amongst her late-husband's belongings, written a week before he died.
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This is the letter John Candy used to send to fans in ‘84 around the time of Splash, 3 years before Planes, Trains & Automobiles. There are others that I’ll dig out.
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On this day in 1921, Katherine Mansfield wrote to her husband's mistress.
ALT 24 March, 1921 Dear Princess Bibesco, I am afraid you must stop writing these little love letters to my husband while he and I live together. It is one of the things which is not done in our world. You are very young. Won’t you ask your husband to explain to you the impossibility of such a situation. Please do not make me have to write to you again. I do not like scolding people and I simply hate having to teach them manners. Yours sincerely, Katherine Mansfield
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Alan Rickman's letter of advice to 16-year-old Alan Rickman (from the book, 'Dear Me').
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I'll send a set of these new Letters of Note books to one person who retweets this. Randomly chosen. You have 24hrs to take part. I'll sign them unless told otherwise, & I'll write the winner a letter unless told otherwise. Keep washing your hands. Stay at home. We can do this x
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The morning after a party, a hungover Jane Austen writes to her sister with the gossip. Had she not died 203 years ago, Jane would've turned 245 today.
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Excellent advice from Vincent van Gogh on this day in 1884. Really wish I could follow it.
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RIP Richard Williams, animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Here’s one of many memos he wrote during production of that groundbreaking classic.
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So, uhh, years later, George Bush Sr. wrote a letter to a puppy (!!) and mentioned the death of Ranger, the fat dog.
(Found in 'All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings')
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Aretha Franklin would've turned 78 today.
In 1993, Newsday columnist Liz Smith wrote: "[Aretha] must know she’s too bosomy to wear such clothing, but she just doesn't care what we think, and that attitude is what separates mere stars from true divas.”
Aretha wrote to her.
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Frida Kahlo to Diego Rivera as she waits for her leg to be amputated.
(From LETTERS OF NOTE: LOVE, which is out next month.)
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Early last year, Ursula Le Guin wrote to The Oregonian, on the subject of "alternative facts."
oregonlive.com/opinion/index…
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40 years ago today, Kate Bush's debut single Wuthering Heights was released. Here she is, weeks later, generously sending handwritten lyrics to a fan. (I've seen a few similar letters from her; seems she did it often.)
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Harassed? They thanked him for attending, told the crowd not to boo, and asked for protection. You're a child.
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Capt. Beefheart to Bono, regarding a collaboration: "Dear Bongo, I don't know who you are or what you want from me but don't call me again."
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