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Ejusdem Generis
Near and dear to our hearts here at Grad Student Freelancers are the various murky and confusing concepts that undergird copyright law. Not unrelated are the (one would think) less-disputed ethical guidelines regarding plagiarism (which, as educators, we’ve unfortunately had to deal with, as well). In the latest case of professional negligence (at the least), highly-lauded author and poet Jill Bialosky has been accused of just that. The New York Times reported this week that a critical review of her new book claims to have found strong evidence that Ms. Bialosky copied language from a number of websites for her own biographical descriptions of poets. In response, a number of high-powered authors and critics have come to her defense, suggesting that what she did doesn’t count as plagiarism, or that hers is a sort of venial literary sin that should not detract from the book or her legacy. Some have even suggested that the accusation itself is sexist.
While making claims about what constitutes ethical literary behavior for an Executive Editor and Vice President at W.W. Norton may be above our pay grade, we will say that this sort of thing would result in any first-year/freshman receiving an F on a paper of any sort.
Check out the NYT’s report, here (possible paywall).
For a response to Bialosky’s defenders, click here (possible paywall).
Finally, can anyone tell us why agents post #MSWL tweets when they are closed to queries? It’s like putting up Block Party! BBQ! Food! Music! signs in your neighborhood, and then telling people when they show up, “Sorry, it’s for family members only.”
