I read the article “At Bates, postman won’t ring once’’ (Page A1, April 1) with great dismay and chagrin. It is truly disheartening and unfortunate to realize that letters are disappearing from today’s e-mail-ridden scene.

As a devotee par excellence of the written word, I have collected, perused, and admired personal letters for eons. No hurried e-mail can ever replace a thoughtful, caring, and intelligent written correspondence between two individuals. Letters are incredibly important documents, and a wonderful solace and even a potent catharsis for anyone. They are indeed for saving, rereading, and rethinking.

Without letters, how are historians, scholars, and biographers going to delve into the minds of great luminaries? Succinctly stated, without preserving history, there is no future.

Mel B. Yoken

New Bedford

The writer is a professor emeritus of French language and literature at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.