People who write sonnets should be hung

Robert Bly has never been afraid to speak his mind. The notoriously opinionated, highly influential poet, author, editor, translator and activist wrote the following note to an aspiring poet when he was editing The Sixties; a legendary poetry journal which, as a result of its highly critical tone, attracted an inordinate amount of written reaction from readers. This particular reader had clearly inflamed Bly's well-known distaste for rhyming poetry, and his response was both focused and swift.

Transcript follows.

Source

Transcript

THE SIXTIES
Briarwood Hill, Pine Island, Minn.
EDITORS: WILLIAM DUFFY, ROBERT BLY

Dear Mr. Rogers,

We believe that all people who write sonnets should be hung to the nearest lamp post.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Bly