Round Robins for Pen Pals

But what is a Round Robin? Well, to sum it up, it is a communal letter, started by one pen pal and then passed to the next in a specified group of individuals and added to by that person and then the next person and so on. It sounds easy enough, but there are rules to follow so that the letter stays on course. The letter can be passed amongst a small group, or a very large group, in which case, these rules are crucial to the continuity of the robin.

Getting started in a robin can be as easy as answering an ad, but a little confusing if you are not sure what it all entails. Usually, someone with the experience of belonging to other robins is the leader or organizer. Once the number of participants is determined, each letter writer in the group is then assigned a number, this number usually corresponds to the order within the group in which they receive the robin. This number is placed on all correspondence added to the packet. Each person is then informed who they will receive the robin from and who they are to mail it to next. Some groups also employ what is called a flight number, so that the number of "rounds" circulated amongst the group can be kept track of. The date is another important feature to give others an idea of when each participant wrote, which can help in addressing timely issues in your own response.

The organizer of the group then starts the robin by writing the first letter and passing it to the second person in the group. That person, in turn, reads the opening letter then writes a letter, adds it to the original and subsequently both are mailed to the third person on the list and so it proceeds around the group. After a full circle of the group, when you next receive the robin and you’ve read all the news, you remove your previous letter then begin to write a new letter to be included in the packet, as they are sometimes referred to, answering questions and asking questions . . . just like in an average letter only now it has gone to another level and you have the opportunity to share opinions with several others on whatever issues are brought up.

It can be quite interesting to see where it all leads throughout the rotation. In the meantime, you are catching up with all your friends in each friends’ own words, rather than hearing things secondhand. Quite a few years ago, the round robin was used amongst church groups as a means of keeping in touch. Some of these groups numbered up to and beyond 50 parishioners. They would be exchanged with their missionary counterparts in far away places and that gave all a sense of community, even though there was great distance involved between the participants.

Today as the internet continues to seduce letter writers into the ease and comfort of electronic correspondence, the Letter Round Robin has faded into the background. Crafters, such as quilters, still use the method as a means to get a variety of squares for their quilts. There are many swapping round robins out there for anything from post cards to stickers and all manner of things, but if you want to find a letter robin, you will have to look hard.

The letter robin remains a unique form of correspondence, however. One that is becoming a forgotten joy and that is a shame really. It can be such a nice thing, to receive a packet, containing one big letter from a special group of long distance friends. We all know the thrill of getting a letter through the post. It can be tenfold with the receipt of a round robin because you are hearing from several friends at the same time and it is a bit more like a conversation amongst neighbors instead of a one-on-one thing, and that adds a new dimension to the concept of letter writing.