Poets stealing from poets

Pushcart-Nominated Poet Accused of Plagiarizing Multiple Peers

Earlier this week, Twitter was full of up-and-coming writers celebrating their Pushcart Prize nominations. The Pushcart, which honors works published by small presses, is a coveted award, especially for new writers looking to sell their first books. But one of those nominees has come under fire for lifting words and images from multiple peers.

After the nominees were announced, poet Rachel McKibbens tweeted that two of poet Ailey O’Toole’s recently published poems plagiarize her own work, including the Pushcart-nominated poem, “Gun Metal,” which relies on images from McKibbens’ poem, “three strikes.”

...

Update (4:21 p.m.): Poet Brenna Twohy has informed Jezebel that 13 lines from “Gun Metal” were taken directly from her book, Forgive Me My Salt.

Click to expand...

McKibbens has been keeping a running tab of authors allegedly plagiarized by O'Toole. The count stands at 11, at the time of this writing. Poets not previously mentioned here include Christina Stoddard, Amber Tamblyn, and Brenna Twohy.

Click to expand...

Meanwhile, the internet does what it does: It takes sides. The disgraced poet’s defenders cite her youth and history of mental illness, pleading for leniency; her critics insist that she’s evil, entitled, maybe even racist. (“White poets are feeling like there’s not enough of a captivating narrative for them to be listened to, so they’re creating false ones,” McKibbens, who is Chicana, mused at one point during our conversation.)

Beneath the outrage, though, there is also magnanimity from a group that still on some level recognizes a young and hungry striver as one of their own. “Within the poetry community, an honest and sincere apology goes a really long way,” says Brenna Twohy, who was tipped off by a friend about her own work being plagiarized in “Gun Metal.” “We definitely haven’t seen that so far from Ailey O’Toole. I hope that happens.”

Even McKibbens has some sympathy for O’Toole — and doesn’t believe she’s a lost cause. “What bothers me is how many people consider this a career ending, life-ending thing and it’s not at all,” she says. “I’m like, it’s not to end you — it’s to end that bullshit you’re on. If I come hard at you it’s because I understand you’re reachable.”

Where McKibbens draws the line, though, is the tattoo, which she considers unforgivable on an aesthetic level if not a moral one. “This Trapper Keeper, hollow bubble font,” she says. “You took the music out of my words, you pulled the teeth out of it, you lessened the work when you rewrote it, and then you went and put it in a really shoddy font. That hurts.”

Click to expand...