This rejection letter from almost 100 years ago may be the most brutal of all time

Our appetite for savage put-downs and burns might feel modern, but it turns out the real masters of the craft are from another century altogether.

Aspiring poet F.C. Meyer sent a sample poem to Sydney publishers Angus and Robertson in 1928, but his enquiry didn't go to plan.

The brutal rejection Meyer received recently resurfaced and went viral after Letters of Note, arguably Twitter's highest authority on written take-downs, shared it:

Not only did the bookseller say he couldn't submit more writing, they refused to pass him onto other publishers in an effort to protect them from the horror.

Meyer, it seems, shook off those crushingly harsh words and went on to self publish his own book, 'Blue Mountains of Australia'.

He then followed it up with poetry about Tasmania and New Zealand.

If you're wondering how bad his poetry can possibly be, the answer is 'er, really bad'.

According to author Pauline Conolly, this is an excerpt from his poem 'Maori Maiden' which is featured in the New Zealand volume.

I think I understand thee well, 

Rub my nose now for a spell. 

At least it rhymes?

Meyer's tale is actually one of hope, if you squint.

If he can recover from that, then you can bounce back from any rejection that comes you way.

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