Dear Reader,

The United States' Postal Service consolidated Mail Recovery Center is located in Atlanta, Georgia. The MRC is responsible for sorting, storing, and— if possible— returning lost mail. At this “Dead Letter Department” the USPS investigators open letters in order to salvage them, to determine the identity of the senders and recipients. There is a place where lost letters go to dwell, where they are read – but perhaps not, or not yet, by the intended recipient. Welcome to the Return to Sender issue.

“I envy people who lived during times when letter-writing was more rampant,” Mira writes. While most written communication has moved on to faster, more convenient forms like texts and emails, letter writing carries a certain intimacy, a form of communication that seems to hold ever-increasing weight as time goes on. Letters give us something to hold onto, with words shaped by the subtle movements of a person’s hand, peppered with crossed-out sentences and notes in the margins. For the last issue of the year, we wanted to capture the timelessness of letter writing, and the bittersweet feeling of a one-sided conversation— something that may never be sent, received, or responded to.

In this issue, we received a range of creative interpretations of what a letter can be. Letters to past and future selves, to old friends, lovers, and childhood pen-pals. They address the known and unknown, voicing hopes and fears that must first be sent away in order to reach their recipient.

Sincerely,

USPS (...The Cipher Staff)