Jay (Jay The Author) is a street author from England. Jay travels Europe leaving letters of hope and motivation around cities for strangers to find with the aim that they will feel a little less lonely when they read them.
We met Jay before sunrise in October and took to the streets of Amsterdam finding poignant places to post the letters. When asking Jay why he started his “Dear Stranger” journey he took us to a time when he lived in Melbourn, Australia.
During lockdown, like many, Jay found the isolation incredibly lonely and struggled to find a job as an expat in the pandemic. He thought of what he wanted as motivation to keep looking for the light in this dark time.
He decided to write himself a letter as though he was writing to a Stranger and post it on his regular walking rout to find it the next day. This was the first in what is now a 50+ letter series posted across the globe. Jay has thousands of responses and stories from fellow strangers who have found solace in his words. They respond with personal stories of how his letters have moved them, helped them, given them hope and allowed them to see positivity in difficult times.
These letters are only posted with tape. The author understands that these letters are only temporary. Many last for hours or maybe a couple of days, but there are a few that last months.
“You cannot see the stars without darkness”
Production team: Max Koetzier and Cedric Veldhuis
Back to STANLEY STORIES
