Russell Brand will lead a cast of stars breathing new life into long-lost letters which show the enduring power of written correspondence in the era of text messaging and email.
The comedian and campaigner will read a handwritten letter sent by punk rock icon Iggy Pop to a troubled fan on her 21st birthday at the Letters Live performance tomorrow at the Southbank Centre, to mark World Book Night. He will be joined on stage by actors, musicians and writers including former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, actress Lisa Dwan, One Day author David Nicholls and columnist Caitlin Moran.
The IT Crowd’s Matt Berry will read a bizarre note sent by Elvis Presley to President Richard Nixon in 1970 offering his services as a federal agent in the war on drugs.
In the letter that will be read out by Brand, Iggy Pop replied to a 20-page missive from a fan from Paris who told him about her “fear and anger” at growing up in the shadow of her parents’ divorce.
The singer wrote: “I want to see you take a deep breath and do whatever you must to survive and find something to be that you can love.” Other letters include writer Virginia Woolf’s suicide note and a scones recipe from the Queen.
Some 250,000 copies of 20 selected titles by authors including Agatha Christie and Jeffrey Archer will be given away free around the UK tomorrow as part of the Reading Agency’s campaign to boost books.
