epistle

Denizens of Port William speak of belonging to a “membership,” evoking both the concept of unity described in St. Paul’s epistles and the agricultural cooperatives that were established in the area in the 1920s.

Yet the novel evolved incrementally from public to private, epistle to narrative as the scope of the vision enlarged.

To ponder the question and practice decoding an extraterrestrial epistle, an artist-led team has created a mock message from the stars to test us Earthlings.

With an alphabet on the hearth at my feet for reference, I contrived in an hour or two to print and smear this epistle:—

No wonder that letters addressed to people here had never received an answer: as well despatch epistles to a vault in a church aisle.