'Poetry' Rejects Tagore Bit When It's Signed by Babcock

Alfred R. Babcock '40 always wondered whether magazines rejected his poetry because it was inferior, or because he was not a "name" author. So, under his own name, he sent a selection by Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel prize-winning Hindu poet, to Poetry Magazine. And another rejection slip joined his mounting pile.

"One swallow does not make a summer," said Babcock, "but I pass it on to other young hopefuls for what it is worth. Certainly there is an indication that selection is made on some other basis than pure merit. But I hold no grudge against Poetry. I just selected a poem I thought was good and sent it to a well-known magazine that I thought worthy of testing. This is my last attempt at hoax."