April 7, 1998
President and Mrs. Clinton
The White House
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Clinton:
This is to acknowledge your invitation to attend a "Millennium Evening" at
the White House in celebration of American poetry on April 22nd. Thank you for thinking of
me. However, it would seem the greatest hypocrisy for an honest American poet to be
present on such an occasion at the seat of the power which has not only neglected but
abused the interests of poets and their readers continually, to say nothing of many other
administratively dispensable segments of the population. Consequently, I must decline.
Yours sincerely,
Hayden Carruth
