In 2000, a teenage girl from Dallas, Texas wrote a letter to Elliott Smith, telling him his music was "addictive, original and creative—I'd never heard anything like it," and that he made her want to become a writer. After sending the letter, she heard nothing back and assumed Smith had never received it.
Three years later, Smith died at 34 from two stab wounds to the chest. The girl eventually married and took a new surname, becoming Kirby Rock. She held onto the letter for 23 years, until a journalist named Jamie Fisher reached out to her—he was writing an Elliott Smith biography titled *Nobody Broke Your Heart*, and in the process, he had turned up two handwritten documents: the letter she had sent all those years ago, and a reply Smith had written but never mailed.
Smith's reply was only a few lines: "Dear Kirby, I read your letter and it made me happy, thank you. I'm glad you see creativity in yourself—the world needs as much creativity as it can get, so go out there and do your thing!" He drew a heart at the end. A piece of paper tucked away in a drawer or box for over 20 years, finally read once its recipient already went by another name.
Kirby wrote about the experience in an essay submitted to *The Huffington Post*. In it, she reflected not just on the letter itself, but on what Smith's music had meant to her: "What truly captivated me was his vulnerability. He laid himself so bare in his music—listening to his songs felt like reading a diary. Not just the lyrics, but his soft-spoken delivery, the delicate fingerpicking, the layered vocals stacked on top of one another—so tender it made me feel like I was a trusted friend."
After giving birth to her daughter three years ago, Kirby left the writing group she used to belong to, and hadn't picked up an instrument or written a song in a long while. She said that after getting Fisher's call, that old urge came rushing back: "Even if it's for no other reason than to make myself happy, I want to get back to writing, back to playing." She has since rejoined that writing group.
*Nobody Broke Your Heart* was published this past June and is currently available. Fisher has also organized a tribute concert in Smith's hometown of Brooklyn, featuring artists including Half Waif, Tsunami's Jenny Toomey, Greg Mendez, and Ida—musicians who were either influenced by Smith or knew him personally. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the SIMS Foundation, a mental health organization for musicians, and WIN, an organization supporting the homeless.
For ticketing and further details, please refer to official announcements; tour dates and ticket information not mentioned in this article are subject to the organizer's official release.
