This was forwarded to me by Paul Colman from the excellent site letters of note.

I liked it so much I wanted to share it here.

Letters of Note said:

The following letter was written in 2006 by legendary gravel-voiced musician Tom Waits to a 15-year-old named Colin, in response to a piece of fan mail written by the youngster a few months previous. It was accompanied by a signed photo, also seen below. The opening joke of Waits' charming letter can be explained by Colin's hometown: Palestine, Illinois.

As one might expect and hope, Tom Waits writes in the scrawl of a crazed doctor. So to save your time, here's the deciphered transcript:

Jun 6, 2006

Colin,

You're from Palestine? How did you find the time to write….given all the trouble you are having with Israel? Good to hear from you, your sister has good taste, so do you. Allow me to formally encourage to write things down, so when you make it you can say, and I can say, I was in your corner all along. Thanks for all your kind words, always good to hear from the younger generation telling me I have value and relevance. Stay at it Colin. Lots of great people come from Illinois because it's so flat you have to dream up everything, that's what my wife says….she's from there, & lots of Presidents are from Illinois. OK Colin go out there and take the world by the tail, pull it down, wrap it around and put it in your pocket.

Warmly,

Tom Waits

I knew Tom Waits was a maverick musical genius but I didn't know he also took the time to coach and counsel random kids.

"Go out there and take the world by the tail." Great advice for any young person who wants to make it in any creative field. Or indeed anything.

Wise words, Mr Waits. Like the time when you said, 'My father was an exhaust manifold and my mother was a tree.'