The project is called “Dear Stranger,” and Mara Utterback said it’s fashioned after one from Oregon Humanities. She said it’s a way for those who live here to share their experiences.
"Giving our constituents and our readers a chance to connect with each other, and we're hoping that by doing programs like this, they feel more involved with us as an organization, that we're able to tell their stories and not just stories that our scholars and our historians are telling,” Utterback said.
The process will be completely anonymous, because the people who participate will not sign their full names to the letters they send to Florida Humanities' “Dear Stranger” letter exchange. The organization will distribute the letters. And individual letter writers won’t be matched with the same person twice.
“We hope to engage everybody from all walks of life, you know, diverse communities, underserved communities, places and people that, you know, never would have really had the chance to meet before,” Utterback said.
And each of the writing prompts for the “Dear Stranger” campaign will be published on the Florida Humanities website and in its “Forum” magazine.
Utterback expects to provide a prompt every three months or so and participants will need to sign a release to take part.
“So, our first writing prompt is, ‘What do the humanities mean to you?' So, we just ask that you keep to the writing prompts light and airy. Honestly … we want you to write a letter that you would enjoy reading back,” Utterback said.
She said in Oregon, the letters sometimes included recipes or old photos, so she hopes that could happen here.
Florida Humanities has a big mission, according to Utterback.
“Our mission is to preserve, promote, and share the history, literature, cultures, and personal stories that offer Floridians a better understanding of themselves, their communities and their state,” she said.
It’s also the statewide affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You can get details on the “Dear Stranger” campaign here. Utterback said the deadline to sign up is Jan. 31, 2024.
