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When Claudia Cortese took to Twitter to accuse another writer of stealing her work, she didnt mince words.
And at the time, Cortese didnt seem to mind.
As it turns out, Cortese was more conflicted than that.
I remember feeling uncomfortable at how similar they were to my poems, says Cortese in a phone interview.
But I told myself, essentially, Its okay.
I didnt want to be someone who wasnt supportive of another poet.
So Cortese wrote it off as an isolated event.
Ailey OToole had written poems after others, includingAmber Tamblyn.
In the wake of her exposure, some are arguing that even these amount to plagiarism.
Theres nothing straightforward about the debate, and nothing particularly new about the after convention.
Poetry is a medium in which sampling, allusion, and conversation have always been part of the game.
But a response like Raleighs, even with its recognizably repurposed language, would have been considered fully within-bounds.
Writing in the manner of is a totally accepted thing, says David Orr, the New YorkTimespoetry critic.
Things get much murkier when a contemporary poet starts to sample from his or her peers.
(Consider the modern valence of another word for borrowing,appropriation.)
Who wrote these poems first?!
Me or Lisa Low?
Despite their ubiquity, after poems dont really come with a rulebook.
You should be able to tell.
If you feel your poem is way too close to someone elses, its probably too close.
But what if you dont?
She was awaiting confirmation on the details of attribution when Cortese pulled the callout alarm.
Cortese concedes her about-face was abrupt, but explains that she didnt trust Lows good intentions.
Cortese is adamant that she never intended to wreck Lows career.
Im genuinely sorry that Ive hurt another poet whose work I admire.
Still, she regrets leaving Ruby behind.
Different poets will have different ideas of what constitutes fair use, or good taste.
As Orr notes, Poets are funny about this stuff.
Everyone is so invested in their work that they can start seeing their work in everything around them.
If not, theres always Catullus; dead poets dont tweet.
