Not accusing me of plagiarism, exactely...BUT

I'll try to keep this short, as I'm really fucking boiling about it, and I'll probably say something that I would only regret later.

I got a PM regarding a poem that I posted for critique. Obviously I won't say who it was from...that part doesn't matter. In this PM, the sender complimented my poem, then proceeded to tell me that he/she was certain that he/she had read certain stanzas and'or lines in some other poem, probably here on the AW poetry forums.

This person did not accuse me of plagiarism...just a friendly sort of "thought you should know" sort of message. I'll take that person at their word and say "thank you."

The lines in question are as follows...with no breaks so that you can easily copy and google them if you wish:

*when we make love i smell campfires in her hair, taste the smoke on her skin.

*she speaks with a lilting tongue of better days and fatter kills, wide blue morning skies, times without war.

*she names the stars after dead ancestors and laughs at the notion of other worlds.

Three of my "showcase" stanzas, I can't help but notice, three stanzas that are probably the closest to my pure poetic "voice," if I even have such a thing.

I am really, really, really upset about this.

I googled them myself, of course. Nothing. But the PM specified that he/she thought that he/she saw the poem here, in this forum. Is there some way to check that? Can we search those stanzas, like you can on Google?

I'm about THIS goddam close to a full blown blood rage over the thing. I've never had any even remotely intimate such a thing about my work before, and even worse than that, this is one of those poems that I'm really fucking happy with, and proud of (it's overall merits or lack thereof aside).

So if anyone knows a way I can search this forum as I described above, or if anyone else feels that they have seen these particular stanzas (or any other, for that matter) in some other poem on this board, please, tell me.

Thank you.

So I shouldn't have started this thread, is what you are trying to say? I've seen other people post threads about writing related stuff that pissed them off. I have never been able to gather any useful info from the forum search function, either. That's why I was hoping someone could pop in and explain it to me.

And you are wrong to say "that's the end of it." Not until it is firmly established that these lines and stanzas do not exist anywhere else on this board other than in the poem I posted for crit, and the OP of this thread, is it "the end of it."

I'm not trying to be an ass about the issue...and I'm not trying to drawn more attention to myself or this poem. If I was going to pull that kind of shit I surely would have done it before now. But as it stands, I think the people who critiqued the poem deserve to know that such comments have been made regarding it...even if those comments were made in private. Also, by bringing it to light, perhaps some other person who reads here regularly can find whatever poem the PM-sender may have read that has the same lines...or sounds similar...or whatever...so the issue can be resolved, if only in his/her and my minds.

And honestly, I have absolutely no luck with the forum search thing.

alleycat said:

The person may have just gotten confused. They may have read your poem some time earlier, then came back and read it again and thought they remembered one like it by someone else.

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That's a great point. As well, in my reply, I wondered if perhaps he/she was vaguely remembering some other poem that I posted here. After awhile I suppose all my crap starts to sound alike

Anyway, I'm sorry for flying off like that on this issue. Just hit me all kinds of wrong. If nobody pops in with some sort of "Oh yeah...there WAS a poem I remember that had such and such" then I suppose the issue is closed.

I'm certain that I didn't accidentally lift someone else's line, but if I even came close....

Well.

Thanks. I can't tell you how much. I don't normally get that wound up about stuff. And thanks for doing the search OFG...sets my mind at ease on the thing.

I guess the only fitting punishment for having made this particular mountain out of that particular mole hill will be to make myself learn how to use the ^$#&$%#$$*% search forum feature.

I'll report back here when the torture has ended.

Seriously, thanks for the help you guys.

Silver King said:

I've just completed a thorough search of those three lines using key words, and the results show that they all appear in two places: here in this thread, and in the poem, The Blonde Barbarian of my Dreams, that you posted on May 21st. Those three lines, or even key parts of them, don't exist anywhere else on AW.

Now you can relax and have a beer on me in The Drunk Thread.

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On my way, sir!

Thanks SK

You use words like fucking, goddam and "blood rage"

That's true. But I used them tastefully.

Seriously VG...I think it is well established that I went overboard on this one. Again, I apologize.

LimeyDawg said:

You're quibbling over tribbles. If somebody said this to me, I'd search it, find nothing, and breathe a sigh of relief. Then I'd go over and have silver buy me a beer, since I got screwed this weekend and missed the fishing over at Boca Grande Pass.

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I got screwed and had to duck tornados, so we're more or less even. But you are right. As soon as I finish playing vid games with the son I'm goingto start the grill and go annoy people in the drunk thread.

I hear Silver King's buying

Medievalist said:

Skelly, I've just searched on AW and the net, and two very specific library-only poetry databases.

They're not anywhere else but where you've posted them.

You're fine.

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Well if that aint about the last word on the thing, I don't know what is.

Thanks Med.

Honestly, I knew that I hadn't purposefully lifted anything from anyone....but there is this lingering doubt where it concerns the concept of writing something and claiming it as your own, only to find out that it was something that you read once, twenty years ago, and somehow got lodged in your brain.

That terrifies me, because I've read A BUTT LOAD of stuff.

Anyway, thanks Med.

KTC said:

Yes... I'm sure it just raised a memory in someone of a similar scene. Although I'm not quite sure that someone should have did what they did. I know it would upset me if somebody suggested such a thing of me.

This from the guy who responded to one of Stew's (Trish's) poems with a poem... now if that wasn't stealing, I don't know what is.

Oh, and by the way... I thought it was a lovely poem... nice job indeed.

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Thanks Kevin and I cannot stress this enough...the person who sent the original PM has PM'd me since and is just sick about the whole thing. I took them at their word that they were not accusing me of anything and I fully believe that to be the case now.

I'm the one who freaked and pulled the fire alarm.