When I was corresponding with Jens Lekman to arrange an interview with him in Stockholm I noticed that he always signed off his emails / Jens. There was no cheers. No best wishes. Not even a yours sincerely. Each email simply ended with a forward slash and his name.
At the time I regarded it as some kind of bohemian affectation peculiar to musicians and their ilk. But then I noticed that Doug Lansky, an American friend living in Sweden signed off his emails in the same way. I began to wonder if it was a Scandinavian thing.
It was time for a bit of detective work. I knew that another friend of mine, Marie Javins, had been corresponding with a man from Stockholm whom she called her eSwede. I asked her if he signed off with a / and she said that he did.
I emailed Doug and asked him if everyone in Sweden signed off like this and he said yes. When I asked him why and he said it was because they were all so ‘totally f*****g cool.’ Marie’s eSwede said it was because it was short, language neutral and cool in a busy, sending a telegram kind of way.
I’ve got to say, I kind of like it. It strikes me as a very euro kind of affection, a little bit pissy and weak, but somehow cool. And it’s unmistakably continental – like the chocolate in Kinder Surprises and the collars on Italian shirts. I thought I might start using it for a while and see if it catches on. I’ve already won my UK editor Simon Taylor over to the cause. And Marie has discussed it on her blog, causing a flurry of debate amongst the people who visit it.
Or better still, I could try and come up with my own Aussie version. I wonder what that could be?
This is where you'll find everything you need to know about me and my books.
I just want to make sure I get it right.
I’ve seen it both ways:
/Marie
/ Marie
Anyone know which is accurate?
I see a bizarre cult forming…….!
I think you should go for a tilda Peter…..looks sort of like a wave and surfy…good for an Aussie like yourself
~ Alex
The eSwede says it’s /Marie. I think he’s out getting drunk in the snow right now.
As I’m on the other side of the world.. \Barb
I have a Swedish friend who signs off that way. I always thought it was a typo….
How about
At the risk of being a geek, the / might be taken from HTML, the web language, where you use tags like to start an instruction and then do to close the instruction (eg make things bold or a hyperlink). So by doing /name, you’re showing you’re finishing your message.
I have to say I quite like it! But then I am a bit of a geek…
Let’s see what a few variations would look like for you:
/Peter — the Swedish way
\Peter — as suggested by Barb considering you’re from down under
~Peter — the wavy one as suggested by Alex
$Peter — for when you’ve become a celebrity in the US
*Peter — looks like a footnote…
Take your pick
/Bruno
PS: being a geek, I agree with Simon, it probably comes from HTML
You could sign off ‘Earl of Cool, Gangsta of Love’ but I already have that on copy right to me!
Mick ‘Earl of Cool, Gangsta of love and occasionally the Duke of Funk’
As someone with a reputation for seeing the world from an alternative point of view, perhaps you should leave ‘em guessing with:
?eter.
Yours sincerely,
!an.
If it was HTML shouldn’t it be:
> Peter
Aha!!
I think Simon is dead-on with this one.
love this entry, i just found it. this is funny because ive noticed it too. i exchange mails with jens and quite a few swedes.. and i must agree they all sign with that “/” it’s quite contagious, that i actually sign with that now too because i thought it was pretty cool (yeah i copied them!). oh, but jens does say things before the” /” like take care, all the best… etc..etc. but on the line above it. also there are other styles, some use two of them “//.” anyway, that’s all sorry for barging in. nice blog!
Hi L,
I actually emailed Jens the other day and asked for his take on the whole “/” issue. As you’d expect it is the most poetic reason given to me yet. He said the ” / ” is representing the tumbling wall in our hearts when we say goodbye.
haha, leave it to Jens to make it poetic of course. but that’s a beautiful explanation! thanks Peter.