Over the course of four years in the 1970s, artist G. C. Haymes sent approximately 500 letters to a wide-ranging selection of high profile people as part of a project entitled Skymail. Enclosed alongside the letters were return postcards, upon which the recipients were asked to ‘describe the sky’. Below is the original letter and two of the 28 replies Haymes received, chosen due to the brilliantly contrasting tone and content of each. They were written by authors Isaac Asimov and Jerzy Kosinski.

Original Request

Isaac Asimov’s Reply

Jerzy Kosinski’s Reply

Transcripts

Original Request

SKYMAIL

box 1786

albany ny

12201 good morning you are hereby cordially invited to participate in skymail (first event). skymail is an artistic event in which selected artists of different fields have been invited to describe the sky. i would appreciate it greatly if you could take the time to fill out the enclosed card & drop it in a mailbox (postage has been prepaid). i am currently seeking a showplace for the event. you will be notified of the date & place of the exhibit. thank you very much. enjoy the sky (signed) g c haymes

coordinator: skymail (first event) SKYMAIL

Isaac Asimov’s Reply

NAME: Isaac Asimov DATE: 29 July 1976 DESCRIBE THE SKY An inverted blue (sometimes black) semisphere, in which, when blue, a yellow circle is pasted, and to which, when black, some thousand of tiny sparks are affixed. There is also a dim yellow circle more noticable against the black, but sometimes seen against the blue which changes shape and is sometimes round, sometimes crescent, and sometimes in between. Often the semisphere is obscured by moving white or gray clouds. (Signed)

Jerzy Kosinski’s Reply

name: date: describe the sky IMBECILOGRAM Dear Idiot: don’t you have anything better to do? sky is, in fact, a limit for pretentious idiots like you.