Is this the most BRUTAL rejection note ever? 1928 letter from publisher crushes aspiring poet saying 'they've never seen worse' and 'they hate no rival enough to inflict him upon them'
A strong contender for the most brutal rejection letter of all time has been found, almost 90 years after it was written.
The letter - penned by Sydney publishing house Angus & Robertson on April 10, 1928 - was addressed to aspiring poet Frederick Charles Meyer.
Meyer, a New Zealander living in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba at the time, had apparently submitted a poetry sample to the bookseller.
A strong contender for the most brutal rejection letter (pictured) of all time has been found, almost 90 years after it was written
Angus & Robertson was scathing in response, not only telling Mr Meyer he could not send any more of his poetry, but also refusing to refer him to another publisher.
'Dear Sir,' the letter begins, the polite tone leaving the reader unprepared for the savage content to come.
'No, you may not send us your verses, and we will not give you the name of another publisher,' the letter continues.
'We hate no rival publisher sufficiently to ask you to inflict them on him. The specimen poem is simply awful.
The letter - penned by Sydney publishing house Angus & Robertson on April 10, 1928 - was addressed to aspiring poet Frederick Charles Meyer (pictured is a book by Meyer)
'In fact, we have never seen worse.'
Seemingly undeterred by the rejection, F.C. Meyer published a book of prose the very next year, titled Pearls of the Blue Mountains of Australia.
He followed that in 1934 with Jewels of Mountains and Snowlines of New Zealand, mentioned in a bad poetry competition run by Scoop magazine in 2001.
A poem from that book, Maori Maiden, included the verse: 'I think - I understand thee well, rub my nose now for a spell!'
Another, My Pet Dog, read: 'Pluto! come here my dearest little dog, don't get mixed up with every rogue, and do not run into a fog.'
Meyer's last published work, Bijoux of Mountains and Valleys of Tasmania, came out in 1940.
Meyer, a New Zealander living in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba (pictured) at the time, had apparently submitted a poetry sample to the bookseller
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