Rabbie

Dear Valeria,

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a pannic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,
Wi’ murd'ring pattle!

Yours,

Robert Burns

Narihira

Dear Valeria,

Even the almighty
gods of old
never knew
such beauty:
on the river Tatsuta
in autumn sunlight
a brocade—
reds flowing above
blue water below.

Go in peace,

Ariwara no Narihira

B.B.

 Dear Valeria,

The sound that you’re listening to is from my guitar
That’s named Lucille. I’m very crazy about Lucille.
Lucille took me from the plantation. Oh you might say,
Brought me fame.
I don’t think I could just talk enough about Lucille.
Sometime when I’m blue seem like Lucille try to help
me call my name.

B.B. “King of the Blues” King

Bella

Dear Valeria,

I’ve been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am—and this ought to be made very clear—I am a very serious woman.

Love,

 “Battling” Bella Savitzky Abzug

Juliette

Dear Valeria,

Yours,

Juliette Wytsman

Harry

Dear Valeria,

I’m perfect!

Sincerely Yours,

Harry “Little Tich” Relph

Marie

Dear Valeria,

Sit down…



Let me tell you a story.

Marie Hassenpflug

John

 Dear Valeria,

Rock on,

John Henry “The Beast” Bonham

Marija

Dear Valeria,

Remember to always punch nazis.

Yours in power,

Marija Bursać

Erna

 Dear Valeria,

Look at this good boy!

Grüße,

Erna Mohr

Arthur

 Dear Valeria,

All best,

Arthur Rackham

Chadwick

Dear Valeria,

“Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.”

Chadwick Boseman

Fiammetta

Dear Valeria,

Never forget to look at the sky! 

Much love,

Fiammetta Wilson

Paul

Liebe Valeria,



Grüße und Küsse,

Paul Klee

Michel

Chère Valeria,

La vieille puissance de la mort où se symbolisait le pouvoir souverain est maintenant recouverte soigneusement par l'administration des corps et la gestion calculatrice de la vie.

Votre ami,

Michel Foucault

Mimi

Chère Valeria,

Maîtresse (1996)

Salutations,

Mimi Parent

Bibi

Dear Valeria,

Part of being an actress is aliveness, alertness, and it comes from not letting yourself stiffen. I wanted to see life, wanted to smell it, and I felt starving, mentally.

Stay alive,
Bibi

Vonda

Dear Valeria,

“It won't be any of those things,” J.D. said. “I don't know what it will be, but it will be something different.”

With love,

Vonda N. McIntyre

Gerda

Dear Valeria,

Never stop fighting,

Gerda Taro

Kurt

Dear Valeria,

I gather from what I read in the papers and hear on television that you imagine me, and some other writers, too, as being sort of ratlike people who enjoy making money from poisoning the minds of young people. I am in fact a large, strong person, fifty-one years old, who did a lot of farm work as a boy, who is good with tools. I have raised six children, three my own and three adopted. They have all turned out well. Two of them are farmers. I am a combat infantry veteran from World War II, and hold a Purple Heart. I have earned whatever I own by hard work. I have never been arrested or sued for anything. I am so much trusted with young people and by young people that I have served on the faculties of the University of Iowa, Harvard, and the City College of New York. Every year I receive at least a dozen invitations to be commencement speaker at colleges and high schools. My books are probably more widely used in schools than those of any other living American fiction writer.

I am very real,

Kurt Vonnegut