Poison Pen Letter

A poison pen letter is a letter or note containing unpleasant, abusive or malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or a third party. It is usually sent anonymously. Poison pen letters are usually composed and sent to upset the recipient. They differ from blackmail, which is intended to obtain something, in that they are purely malicious.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation used poison pen letters as a tactic during their COINTELPRO projects, targeting people such as Martin Luther King Jr. Some politicians, such as Harvey Milk, as well as many celebrities, have often received poison pen letters.

Read more about Poison Pen Letter:  In Literature and Film, See Also

Famous quotes containing the words poison, pen and/or letter:

    The vulgarest tool that Tyranny could want,
    With just enough of talent, and no more,
    To lengthen fetters by another fixed,
    And offer poison long already mixed.
    George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)

    Here is a pen and here is a pencil,
    Here’s a typewriter, here’s a stencil,
    Here is a list of today’s appointments,
    And all the flies in all the ointments,
    The daily woes that a man endures—
    Take them, George, they’re yours!
    Ogden Nash (1902–1971)

    The desire of most parents is first and foremost to do what is best for their children. Every interview with a mother or father confirms this, every letter written by a parent breathes this deep-seated wish, “I hope I am doing the right thing for my child.” This is real and honest, and at the very base of parenthood.
    Irma Simonton Black (20th century)