From the COVID lockdown streets in Melbourne to cities all over the world. Jay Ventress, better known as Jay the Author on Instagram, shows how even strangers can make you feel seen with his handwritten letters. Jay, a 27-year-old street artist and author born in Yorkshire, Northern England, has travelled to New York, Madrid, London, Giza, and many more places on the globe to post his handwritten letters in public places. The goal? Catching a passerby’s attention and bringing them some sunshine and kind words. We were able to catch Jay when he was in Belgium; we met up in the streets of Brussels, and while drinking a cup of hot chocolate, he told me his story and his dreams for his ‘Dear Strangers’ project.
“Covid hit and the world went still. I was stranded in Australia, unable to go home to the UK, and I felt like I was out of hope and out of oxygen. One day, I was listening to a song called ‘People Are Strange’ by The Doors. A lyric struck me hard: ‘Faces look ugly when you’re alone.’ Inspired by that very lyric, I wrote a letter, a letter to myself, basically, but to a stranger. I wrote what I wanted to read at that moment. So, I did my first one. I posted it, closed my eyes, walked away, came back to it, and read it like someone else left it there for me.
And just like that, the Dear Strangers project was born. I have been running around the world, leaving letters to make people feel a little less lonely and more seen for about five years now. I also wrote a book called ‘Dear Strangers Origin’ at that time.
Dear Strangers has never had a definition. But at the core, I just want people to feel seen. I want to share kindness and connection in a world where this often gets lost. We go through life at such a dynamic pace that everything and everyone constantly has the expectation to move and change that you sometimes lose the sense of who you are when you do slow down. My letter is meant to be a little intimate and deliberate moment for people to have for and with themselves.
But even I have difficulty truly slowing down; I’m always in transit, moving from one place to the next. I feel like I am a forever stranger because the moment I get familiar with a place, I’m gone; it’s a blessing and a curse.
Of course, I have had negative reactions, but the amazing responses I have gotten make it worth it. People who share that my letters brought light to a dark day or even made them reconsider taking their own life. They made me realize that this project is so much bigger than me and that these letters are just as important to someone else as they are to me.
I’ve learned that it’s not about how many stories you accumulate yourself, it’s about learning how to listen
Jay Ventress
The project and I have become intertwined, growing together. I have been on the road since I was 18. Back then, my main reason for starting travelling was to gather enough stories to make myself more interesting, but instead, I learned how to truly listen. I believe that is more beneficial to the human soul.
I have read messages from different people in different parts of the world; no place is the same, but I still get surprised. I was in Morocco, and there I had some of the best responses of all the places I have been, even though the letters were in English. This made me realize that every city has its own rhythm and heartbeat; you have to learn those to make the project work.
I love travelling in general, so I don’t go to places solely for the project. I end up in a place, and the letters follow, sometimes more intensely than others. The letters sometimes give me a purpose when I travel because you get held to certain expectations and societal standards as you get older. In a way, Dear Strangers is my excuse to be a kid and explore the world like one.
My current dream for the Dear Strangers project is to make a documentary of me travelling around the world for a year, posting letters, and sharing even more stories. But then again, dreams are constantly changing, and I guess that’s the beauty of it. The beauty of not knowing, of enjoying the view, and just going along with the journey.”
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