Open Letters

Directed writing (15 minutes):

With James Baldwin's "A Letter to My Nephew" in mind as an example, conceive and begin drafting an open letter on an issue that is important to you. Think about to whom you should address your letter, and how you might frame or present your appeal or argument both to appeal to that individual audience and to the implied wider audience.

Baldwin's open letter to his nephew was originally published in The Progressive, but it later became part of one of his most well-known and influential long essays, The Fire Next Time. If you're interested in a discussion of the open letter as a form of public protest, see "The Intimate, Political Power of the Open Letter" by Emily Nordi, which explores how the form has been deployed for literary activism by writers of color.