"This is My Letter to the World"*

Dear Friend,

Since I was a small child, ever since I learned to hold a pen, I've found solace in the activity of writing. Before I learned to read, I wrote hieroglyphic notes to my my mother and others, cheerfully decorated with drawings of hearts and flowers and people. When I eventually learned the alphabet, I began journaling and corresponding with people in other places, and throughout my life, I've been blessed to develop some wonderful friends through writing letters.

During high school, my list of correspondents grew so long, I determined to begin a newsletter to keep them all abreast of my interests and pursuits. Josephine's Journal, which I sent to over seventy friends and family members, included reflections on my quiet country life in northeastern Oklahoma and excerpts from the letters of my readers.

Postage growing ever more prohibitive and my schedule growing more demanding as I took on a home-based business and full-time employment, Josephine's Journal as it once existed became impossible to continue. But writing and maintaining contact with kindred spirits far and near have remained constant concerns. While regretting no longer being able to contribute elegant missives to as many friends' mailboxes and mourning the absence of friends' replies in my own box, I am pleased to be posting reflections in a format that permits such candid conversation as does blogging.

This blog is the front page of a long, chatty letter. To the side, you will find links to my latest personal blog posts, articles that I've published online, and a few blogs I frequent. I hope you'll make a cup of tea and settle in to hear the news from my small corner of the world. More, I hope you'll chime in with your own insights and reflections on life. I look forward to meeting you.

Warmly,
Rebecca

At the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset

*Emily Dickinson