Tiny Letter Writing
Summer feels like an invitation.
The days open out a little wider. The pace is (sometimes) slower. We notice more. And for teachers and writers alike, this season can be a space to reconnect with your writing life — in small yet meaningful ways.
One of my favorite ways to do that is through letter poems (also called epistolary poems) — short pieces written to the world around us, the people we love, the memories we carry, the unseen.
Letter poems are one of my favorite forms because they let us speak directly to someone or something — with heart, with curiosity, with surprise.
As I wrote in Awakening the Heart:
“All poems are in a sense telling those we love what our news is—sending words into the world with faith that they’ll reach somebody, or something, somewhere.”
This summer, if you’re looking for a small and joyful writing practice, letter poems are a beautiful place to begin.
Here are some of my favorite books of letter poems (for your reading & writing inspiration):
Letter Poetry Picture Books
Dear Acorn (Love, Oak): Letter Poems to Friends by Joyce Sidman (coming soon)
This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, edited by Joyce Sidman
Dear Treefrog, by Joyce Sidman
Letters to Anyone and Everyone by Toon Tellegen
Dear Mr. Rosenwald, by Carole Boston Weatherford
Letter Poetry Books for Adults
Letters to a Young Poet: A New Translation and Commentary Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Joanna Macy) A classic of timeless advice to a young writer from the great poet Rilke.
Constellation Route by Matthew Olzmann
Yours, Creature by Jessica Cuello (poems written in the voice of Mary Shelley who wrote the novel Frankenstein)
You can also find a chapter devoted to letter poems in my own book, Awakening the Heart (2e).
A Gift for You: The Tiny Letters to the World Calendar
This July, I’ve created something special:
The Tiny Letters to the World Calendar — 31 prompts to inspire one small letter poem each day.
Some prompts are playful, some tender, some surprising. Here’s a little sneak peek:
Write a tiny letter to a shadow.
Write a tiny letter to a moment of opening.
Write a tiny letter to someone you miss.
If you’d like the full calendar, I’d love for you to join me in Heart Beats, my monthly newsletter for teachers and writers.
✨ Sign up now, and the July edition — with your free Tiny Letters to the World Calendar — will arrive in your inbox on July 1st. ✨
A Few Beautiful Tools to Inspire Your Tiny Letter Writing
If you’d like to add a little delight or surprise to your tiny letter writing this month, here are a few favorite tools and objects I love. Whether you use them for yourself, share them with students, or gift a tiny letter to someone, these small touches can make the practice even more joyful:
🌸 Wildflower Seed Paper (Heart-Shaped or Other Shapes):
Write your tiny letter right on plantable seed paper — then plant it and watch it grow!
✉️ Mini Envelopes & Stationery:
Tuck tiny letters into mini envelopes — to hide in books, give to friends, or keep in a jar.
🖋 Glass Dip Pen or Calligraphy Pen:
Make each letter a mindful act — slow down and enjoy the art of writing with a beautiful pen.
🎁 Keepsake Jar for Tiny Letters:
Write a month of tiny letters and collect them in a special box or jar — then revisit them or share them as a gift.
🎨 Watercolor Blank Notecards:
Add a splash of color or decoration to your tiny letters — makes the writing playful and visually joyful.
However you write them — typed, scribbled, painted, tucked into envelopes, planted in the earth — your tiny letters will be gifts to the world. I hope you’ll join me in writing them this month.
One Last Letter
Tiny letter poems can be a summer journal, a gentle conversation with the world, a playful writing practice, or even a project to bring to your students in the fall.
Whether you write one letter or thirty, I hope this practice brings a little more joy, connection, and noticing to your summer days.
P.S. If you’d like to receive your free Tiny Letters to the World Calendar, be sure to sign up for Heart Beats today — the July edition (with your calendar download) will land in your inbox on July 1st!