letters

Nine J. D. Salinger Letters Discovered

Maggie Lange · 04/24/13 08:44AM

Nine letters from J. D. Salinger, written between 1941 to 1943, reveal the elusive Catcher in the Rye author's book recommendations, writerly ambitions to "tear the country’s heart out," fears that he would "probably fail completely," and his clumsy attempts to flirt via correspondence. All in all, he's got an awkwardly charming resemblance to Holden Caulfield that you were hoping for.

Poisonous Ricin Found in Letter Addressed to Obama

Max Read · 04/17/13 10:35AM

A letter addressed to President Obama that was intercepted after a "suspicious substance" was detected has tested positive for ricin, the same substance found on a letter to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker yesterday, the Dow Jones news wire is reporting.

Dear 02A3172: Letters To and From a Caged Bird

Marlon Peterson · 01/26/13 12:35PM

In 1999, when I was 19 years old, I was arrested and charged with first degree murder, several counts of attempted murder, attempted robbery, and several counts of criminal use of a weapon. I was convicted of first degree assault and third degree weapons possession, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2002.

This 16th-Century Korean Love Letter from a Woman to Her Dead Husband Will Break Your Heart

Max Read · 09/06/12 05:35PM

This brutal, heartbreaking love letter was found in 1998, lying on the mummified body of Eung-Tae Lee, a 30-year-old Korean man who'd died in 1586, some four hundred years before. Lee was tall and bearded — "The dark mustache made me feel that he must have had a charming appearance," says the former director of the Andong National University Museum — and left behind him a pregnant wife, the letter's author. Here it is, via Letters of Note:

Letters From Death Row: Abdul Awkal, Who Was Supposed to Die Last Week

Hamilton Nolan · 06/11/12 12:50PM

Earlier this year, I wrote to every American death row inmate scheduled for execution in the near future. I asked them about their personal history, their lives in prison, and their thoughts on America and its justice system. Today we hear from Abdul Awkal—a man who was scheduled to be executed by the state of Ohio last week, before receiving a last-minute reprieve.

Letters From Death Row: Brett Hartmann, Ohio Inmate 357-869

Hamilton Nolan · 05/25/12 12:04PM

A few weeks ago, I sent letters to every American death row inmate scheduled for execution this year. I asked them about their own survival prospects, their day-to-day lives, and their thoughts on America, its media, and its justice system. Today, a death row inmate replies.

A Handwritten Cry for Help From Inside the Bloomberg Mothership

Hamilton Nolan · 01/13/12 01:37PM

Bloomberg LP is an incredibly successful media company. It is famous for tight security, tyrannical, controlling editors, plush offices which act like a luxurious cage to ensure that employees never leave the building. It's a place built to engender paranoia. That's probably why employees feel the need to write their tips to us on company stationery, and mail them to us.