May 2026
Letter From a Collective Editor
hello comrades
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I keep coming back to this post by Tumblr user nitewriter:
How do we keep the cortisol gunk from rendering us incapable of action? For me, sources of comfort this spring have been workouts with friends and listening to birdsong- the bird identifying app Merlin is delightful to learn with. Good books help too- I thoroughly enjoyed the Scapegracers trilogy.
Take good care of yourselves and each other this month.
Your May editor,
Emily S
Here’s What’s Up This Month
Meetings
Upcoming pen pal orientations are 5/31 at 6 PM EST, 6/12 at 2 PM EST, 6/16 at 8 PM EST and 6/28 at 6 PM EST.
Volunteer
If you have not been matched with a pen pal yet and are interested in learning more, please join us for an upcoming orientation meeting! (link is above) These meetings are run by LFL volunteers and run for about an hour. You will learn more about our collective, and some best practices and tips for beginning a new pen pal relationship. At the end, you’ll have the option to be matched with a pen pal.
If you already have a pen pal, think about inviting a friend, family member, or neighbor to attend an orientation - being in community with other outside pen pals can be a helpful form of accountability and support.
Support
We accept donations via OpenCollective, where you can view details of our expenses. More details on our webpage.
Links:
Need ideas for your next letter? Check out this list from globalpenfriends.com
Boston jobseeking folks- Boston DSA is hosting a socialist job fair on June 6, RSVP here: bdsa.us/JobFair
A nice story: https://www.ktvu.com/news/formerly-incarcerated-homeless-43-uc-berkeley-senior-graduates-top-honor
new antifascist fiction by Margaret Killjoy: The End, Like Sand
Connect
Social links, share buttons, how to connect with the newsletter host (if you want)
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