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At the center of the controversy is a void: OToole herself, and her unexplained motivations.
To steal the words of another poet isnt just theft, but violation.
I DID THE THING!
Its a line from Gun Metal.
pic.twitter.com/El7ThA5bXv
I thought it was aRichard Sikenpoem, says Conrad.
Turns out I was wrong.
She told me she was a poet.
OToole was no longer employed at B&N, but Conrad was still following her on social media.
When she Googled the tattooed phrase she got two noteworthy results.
One was a poetry collection calledblud, by Rachel McKibbens, with some unmistakable language.
Ramshackle
girl spitting teeth
in the sink.
I trace the
foreign topography of
my body, find God
in my skin.
On Friday, after investigating the tip from Conrad, Rhythm & Bones canceled OTooles book.
OToole, evidently scrambling to get ahead of the damage, emailed McKibbens a note of apology of sorts.
She thought that teeth were a metaphor, McKibbens tells me over the phone.
I am deeply ashamed of the mistake I made and hope you could accept my sincerest apologies.
On Twitter, McKibbenss response was succinct: Bitch, I DONT.
But when I reach her by phone, she has much more to say.
She rides a ferocious rollercoaster of a monologue angry, amused, acerbic, generous.
I didnt really understand at first how much she had truly climbed into my story and worn my skin.
Despite now being internet-infamous for crimes against literature, OToole remains a bit of a cipher.
She was a staff writer forTheCarolinian, the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Onearticledescribed an extended but productive stay in a psychiatric ward.
Confused and doubting herself, Deglane wanted to believe that it was all a misunderstanding.
But in light of the past week, shes sorry she didnt push harder.
She says shes identified pieces from at least 14 other poets and is reaching to them for confirmation.
Did she secretly yearn to be caught?
Did she genuinely believe nobody would notice?
Initially, OToole had promised to talk.
It was a mistake, and I have learned a lot from having made it.
OToole also sent Conrad a single Facebook message of a very different kind.
Threatening a lawsuit, she demanded that Conrad cease and desist and send retractions to everyone youve contacted.
Meanwhile, the internet does what it does: It takes sides.
We definitely havent seen that so far from Ailey OToole.
I hope that happens.
Even McKibbens has some sympathy for OToole and doesnt believe shes a lost cause.
Im like, its not to end you its to end that bullshit youre on.
If I come hard at you its because I understand youre reachable.
This Trapper Keeper, hollow bubble font, she says.
