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There are so many pop culture references to letter-writing, from romantic Hollywood films like PS I Love You (2007) to gripping Netflix TV shows like Letters From the Past (2025), and more. GulfWeekly curates a list of books, songs and movies that illustrate the pleasures of this golden yesteryear trend.
Books
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
First published in 1970, the epistolary memoir records the charming conversations between a New York City-based freelance writer and a London-based antiquarian book dealer. Did you know there is a reference to ‘Bahrein Island’ in one of the letters? The book was then made into a film starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.
My Father’s Last Letter by Ruskin Bond
A heart-warming account of childhood memories by India’s beloved author, peppered with moving anecdotes and short stories from his time with his dad. It also includes his dad’s last letter to him before the former died – this one will tug at your heartstrings and offer a new perspective on parent-child relationships.
Music
Write Me a Letter by Aerosmith
The rock and roll song on Aerosmith’s self-titled debut album is about waiting for a letter from a lover. It was written by the lead-singer Steven Tyler and starts off with a drum line and goes into slow blues jam. The song is the first use of the harmonica in an Aerosmith song.
Return to Sender by Elvis Presley
The track featured in the film Girls! Girls! Girls! and brings alive the artist’s lamentations of his relationship with a spiteful partner. Wordsmiths Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell penned down the lyrics to suit Presley’s rock and roll musical style.
Movies
The Lake House
The romantic fantasy film brings alive an unexpected relationship between two tenants of a lake house, living in different times, but bound together by their mystery abode. They begin exchanging letters through the mailbox, but their attempt to meet is unsuccessful and painful for Kate. But, destiny has its ways.
PS I Love You
The film features 10 letters that Gerry, who is now dead, has written for his wife Holly, to help her navigate grief after he is gone.
The letters, one for each month after her husband’s passing, offer Holly great comfort, guiding her back to life and sending her on adventures.
