Poet's newly published letters include admission of rape

New Zealanders and poetry fans worldwide have been stunned to read a letter from one of the country’s great poets in which he admits to raping his wife.

Letters from James K. Baxter, who died in 1972, were published for the first time in a new collection this year, reports the Guardian.

In one, he tells a friend about how he forced his wife, Jacquie Sturm, to have sex.

Scholars, fans, and relatives of Sturm expressed dismay at the revelation but also hopes that she — an acclaimed writer and pioneer — will be remembered for her accomplishments, not as a victim.

You can read more of the story, which does include troubling excerpts from the letters, in the Guardian.