I get the mail every day, like most writers, with a dumbly hopeful heart. The mere possibility of what that hollow could hold still gets me excited even though I haven't been sending more than a few paper submissions each year for a while now. Mostly, I come up with the bland detritus of our times—clothing catalogs, coupons and credit card offers—at which I shrug and reset my hopefulness meter back to zero. But the mailbox occasionally offers something even more rare than journal correspondence—an unexpected letter from a friend.

The frequency with which I write letters may be seasonal, or manic—I don't know. What I do know is that in letter writing I enter a different space of mind. I turn off certain filters in order that the letter can flow naturally, as a conversation would, as an act of direct and earnest speech. Sometimes that lands me in weird places midway down the page where my train of thought has come to a berm with the tracks run dead and I have to back up a bit. But mostly, I find that this abandon (with intention) gets me to the heart quicker. This only happens for me with old fashioned correspondence, with pen (preferably a good pen), and paper.

I think about famous literary correspondences gathered together in lengthy book formats and the sometimes joy at reading the more intimate voices of people who have reached the icon status. These kinds of friendships don't seem to exist much anymore, which makes me even more grateful when someone asks me to stop everything else for a minute and engage in a conversation of substance. And I mean substance literally. To hold someone's words in your hands is to carry a bit of what they have carried. To have a piece of their mind. And the chance to give a piece back.

In that spirit, I have created a book giveaway over at Goodreads for The End of the Folded Map. If you happen to win and mention that you read this post, even if I don't know you personally, I will send along a handwritten version of one of the poems, a letter with some thoughts on maps, poem-making, and, of course, the chapbook. Enter to win, and spread the word! It's free.

The End of the Folded Map
by Matthew Nienow

Giveaway ends October 12, 2011.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win