12 FEBRUARY 1983, Page 18

Sir: Nicholas von Hoffman is unnecessarily hard on Robert Service

(29 January), who is not 'perhaps the least gifted American poetaster to creep into the more popular an- thologies'. He is, of course, perhaps the least gifted Scottish poetaster to creep into the more popular anthologies.

C. D. Smith

48 Brayburne Avenue, London SW4

According to the Dictionary of National Biography, Robert William Service, ver- sifier, was born in Preston, Lancashire, on 16 January 1874 — Ed.