Workshop to teach art of writing love letters

Our own Jenny Ashley is mentioned in The Brownsville Herald. Here is the link.

By JAZMINE ULLOA, The Brownsville Herald

One of the most legendary romances of the Victorian era happened through letters. Prohibited from seeing each other, English poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning exchanged nearly 600 love missives throughout the 20 months of their courtship.

Though the two resided in the same town, Elizabeth Browning’s father did not want her to leave home as she had fallen ill to a serious ailment and was disabled. But the couple grew closer through their correspondence and eventually eloped to Italy, where Browning is said to have died years later in the arms of her husband.

Their passionate epistles are among the most famous in the history of love letters — and more of a treasure now, historians say, in a world of Tweets, texts and Facebook messages. But this week, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Brownsville residents will have the chance to learn how to express their own feelings for their significant others like such English masters as the Brownings.

In the "Love of Letters" workshop held by the Brownsville Historical Association, participants will learn how to communicate via the hand-written letter, a lost art that requires more than 160 characters.

The workshop will review the history of love letters, spanning different time periods from as far back as the Romans, and attendees will learn how to draft their own romantic messages, said Jenny Ashley, who will lead the session.

"I am really excited to talk about the examples of love letters from famous people throughout history," said Ashley, an English graduate student at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. "It will be exciting to share some of the very personal words they have for their lovers."

Throughout history, there are countless examples of famous romantic correspondences, said Diana Dominguez, an English professor at UTB-TSC. Among her favorites, she counts the Browning’s letters and Beethoven’s amorous messages to someone he called his Immortal Beloved. And English poet John Keat’s last letter to his love, Fanny Brawn, after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis puts her to tears, she said.

That is the beauty of the hand-written letter, she explains," it connects you to others, including those in the past."

As a medieval scholar, Dominguez also said she does not look to traditional history books, which have been written by men, to put together the lives of women in the past.

"I find out what life was like for women from these periods through the letters and the diaries and the things they left behind that nobody thought was important because they were women," she said.

Everyone should take the time to write a hand-written letter at least three times a year, Dominguez said. Friday’s workshop will be a good opportunity to get started.

The session will begin 6 p.m. Friday at the Brownsville Heritage Complex in downtown and is free for members of the city’s historical association. The cost for nonmembers is $3.

"All I get in the mail now are bills," said Sarah Martinez, program coordinator for the Stillman House Museum and the Southmost Heritage Center. "Love letters are so personal. It takes more time and it is more intimate."