Hunter S. Thompson's Amazing Letter In Response To A Fan's Submission (LETTER) [UPDATE]

A letter like this rarely comes around.

We can't actually prove that Hunter S. Thompson wrote this, but if you're familiar with his work there's a few tell-tale signs that the man himself was likely behind this absolutely amazing response to a piece submitted by a young Rolling Stone fan. In any case, this letter was actually mailed to Mike Peterson in response to a piece he submitted to the magazine in 1971.

While it's signed "Yail Bloor III, Minister of Belles-Lettre," Thompson is often known for his use of fake names (famously Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas), and it seems more than plausible that this came from him.

Peterson's piece (which you can read for yourself here) was obviously rejected, but the payout still seems to have been worth it. The author, just 21 at the time, walked away with this incredible piece, ended with just a bit of encouragement.

Hat tip to Mike Peterson for permission to use the image.

UPDATE: Peterson has been able to confirm that the letter was actually written by Thompson. In fact, the text of the letter actually appeared in a biography of the writer. How many people it was sent to remains unknown, but in all likelihood this version was meant for Peterson, as it references South Bend, where he was living at the time.

The Letter (WARNING: THE LETTER BELOW CONTAINS SOME EXPLICIT LANGUAGE):

Comments

[pavementends42]

12:17 PM on 08/18/2011

I can't begin to describe how happy this makes me!

[Adam Story]

10:31 AM on 08/18/2011

After reading the piece in which that letter was a response, I believe he was being a little too kind.

[BassguyGG]

09:42 AM on 08/18/2011

I have gotten my share of rejection letters but never anything like that. Unfortunately I think it's the work of a bored intern who just did a good job mimicing Thompson's style.

[tjdestry]

09:53 AM on 08/18/2011

Really? Why do you suppose that, according to his biography, Thompson claimed to have written it?

[Hypnos Rises]

06:10 AM on 08/18/2011

Hunter Thompson was a literary genius. I am going to get a lot of resistance on this, but he was. Some may think just because he drank alcohol, and did drugs that made him a blast...or that made him not-such-a-genius. Contrary to those notions, Thompson's work had cultural references...and many literary references. He wrote with the explosive language of drug addled rebellion, mixed with the fertile language of the classic writers. He rebelled daily against the status quo and the republican party. And was a true opponent against hypocrisy. Anyone who denies his genius, has not seen or understood the profound connections he has made in his literary works.

[Laserbeam]

11:11 AM on 08/18/2011

I read "Hell's Angels" and loved it, but have not read anything else of Hunter's. What would you most recommend of his that I read?

[AG creative]

04:58 AM on 08/18/2011

"stoned, ripped, twisted... Good people"

[swillirap]

12:12 AM on 08/18/2011

If only he was still alive to write about these times

[Wayne1ea]

11:53 PM on 08/17/2011

Hunter was a true master of his craft and a joy to read. You would be hard pressed to find a man of his caliber, character and conviction today.

[AG creative]

05:01 AM on 08/18/2011

He was a mean drunk of a SOB, with an itchy trigger finger... a man who [in his youth] should have never been allowed the higher arts of language, let alone be allowed to possess a typewriter within a thousand miles of civilization.

[salamanca1]

10:21 PM on 08/17/2011

Well, at least it was constructive criticism.
The quote often attributed to him is nowhere more fitting than in this era of madness: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

[woodys ghost]

09:23 AM on 08/18/2011

One of my favorite all-time quotes and I had all but forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder.

[Laserbeam]

11:12 AM on 08/18/2011

Agreed. One of my all-time favorite quotes. Posted it to my Facebook page earlier this year, matter of fact!

[samdogdamndog2]

09:43 PM on 08/17/2011

Hunter was spot on. Did you read the...the...the...thing???

[MaineIndependant]

09:31 PM on 08/17/2011

Priceless. "P.S. Keep up the good work. Have a nice day." is vintage HST. I have to agree with some that "genius" is a word tossed around far too easily, but the guy was nothing if not memorable. In a journalistic world of gray and OD green, the man was a splash of vibrant color.

[Laserbeam]

11:13 AM on 08/18/2011

What a well-written comment. I agree with everything!

[bulldinky]

07:21 PM on 08/17/2011

HST was outrageous. I'm not sure if that qualifies as "genius." That word is definitely overused. If I got a letter like this I'd lose all respect for the writer of it. It seems HST is given too much license to act with vicious disrespect because of some supposed "genius." Maybe he should have been a professional taunt writer instead...

[Hunter Graffin]

12:20 AM on 08/18/2011

Now you are just sucking all the joy out of it.... Enough guff from you, swine!!!!

[Paul46]

06:56 PM on 08/17/2011

I miss Hunter Thompson....

[coyotedog]

06:54 PM on 08/17/2011

HST where are you when we need you most? Today's political climate would be low hanging fruit for you. Nobody has the courage to write today like you did, nobody. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. "

[joetherealist]

07:39 PM on 08/17/2011

Matt Taibbi, maybe? He's not Thompson but he does throw down some truth. And for Rolling Stone, no less.

[Laserbeam]

11:14 AM on 08/18/2011

Matt is an American treasure, IMHO.

[TRhett]

09:13 PM on 08/17/2011

Today, it would only be published in the bowels of cyberspace, visible only to stoned, late-night internet surfers looking for a head piece.

[AG creative]

05:02 AM on 08/18/2011

That would be me, and I would enjoy.

[LiberalFromDenver]

06:21 PM on 08/17/2011

Wow. That was a very stirring and heartfelt message. It was a little more soft and sentimental than I expected, but definitely in the HST vein.

[TomCinIllinois]

05:03 PM on 08/17/2011

Not just a rejection letter; a veritable plea to stop writing.

I wonder what he really thought.

[Thaag Tidestalker]

05:43 AM on 08/18/2011

You obviously missed the postscript. Go read it now. But without liquids in your mouth, don't wanna ruin your keyboard.

[Laserbeam]

11:14 AM on 08/18/2011

Your last line - LMAO!