An 89-year-old rejection letter surfaced online this week that is breathtakingly brutal in how it totally dismantles any potential for the recipient to believe in his own worth.
On Sunday, popular Twitter account Letters of Note posted a spicy letter written in 1928 from Australian publishers Angus and Robertson, unabashedly rejecting aspiring poet F.C. Meyer.
All other rejection letters can step down. We have a winner. pic.twitter.com/dQijZsIgqL
— Letters of Note (@LettersOfNote) December 3, 2017
"We will not give you the name of another publisher," the letter reads. "We hate no rival publisher sufficiently to ask you to inflict (this) on him."
They elaborated by saying they "have never seen worse" than the sample poem Meyer apparently provided.
Talk about not holding back.
In an incredible feat of perseverance, Meyer ended up not only self-publishing his own book, "Pearls of the Blue Mountains of Australia," but somehow managed to put out a follow-up edition called "Jewels of Mountains and Snowlines of New Zealand."
Steve Oxenham of Scoop News in New Zealand wrote in 2001 that Meyer was "the finest bad poet (New Zealand) has produced, which says rather a lot."
He provided a couple examples to illustrate his point, including this gem from Meyer's "Maori Maiden":
"I think - I understand thee well,
Rub my nose now for a spell!"
And this, from "My Pet Dog":
"Pluto! come here my dearest little dog,
Don't get mixed up with every rogue,
And do not run into a fog..."
Keep Meyer in mind the next time you get passed over for a promotion or a job opportunity.
