Creative 07/08/2022

This week, a plagiarism scandal and Andrea Long Chu rips “Lapvona.”

by | July 8, 2022

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SAMPLING OTHER FAMOUS WORKS, AUTHOR DENIES PLAGIARISM

Some hot literary tea that emerged during my holiday: an investigation spearheaded by The Guardian Australia uncovered close to 60 instances of plagiarism in author John Hughes’ “The Dogs.” The controversy came to light after the problematic text was longlisted for what The Guardian calls “Australia’s most prestigious literary prize,” the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which has a cash prize equivalent to around USD $40,994. Hughes’ literary infractions were originally tied to portions of his text that mirrored a 1985 Nobel Prize-winning book by Svetlana Alexievich (“The Unwomanly Face of War”), but the investigation revealed additional passages lifted from books including “The Great Gatsby” and “Anna Karenina.” The excerpts are pretty damning (see here for examples), though Hughes denies any intentional wrongdoing. 

In a public statement that fittingly opened with a quote cribbed from T.S. Eliot, Hughes defended his actions by describing his writing process, which includes pages of source “transcripts.” As such, he said that it was easy to get jumbled up and forget which portions were his, and which were someone else’s. It’s difficult to imagine that Hughes could mistake passages that included well-recognized character names like Vronsky (“Anna Karenina”) and Haie Westhus (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) for his own.

Pablo Picasso once said that “good artists copy, great artists steal,” so what is it that’s so particularly offensive — career-ending, even — about plagiarism? In this case, it was the litany of excuses provided by the author. As literary experts who examined “The Dogs” pointed out, Hughes went from denying he had plagiarized anything intentionally — saying, instead, that it was a series of unfortunate oversights — to claiming the book was a patchwork of literary allusions; modernist in scope, akin to Maggie Nelson’s “The Argonauts” (which is not the example he used, but still). “I wanted the appropriated passages to be seen and recognised as in a collage,” he said in his statement. 

For this reason, I appreciated a 2019 essay by Agnes Callard for The Point, who (like me) wonders what the big fuss is about plagiarism in the first place. Isn’t all intellectual property borrowed or stolen, anyway? Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” is, for example, in the public domain, meaning that its copyright — much like its author, sadly — is expired. If I were to begin a text with the lines, “‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug,” and pass them off as my own, would my infraction derail my writerly aspirations? Probably. But why? It’s my understanding that those offended by plagiarism are less offended by the “theft” and more aggrieved by the offending writer adopting the pretense of artistic greatness without having earned the title. “The Great Gatsby” will suffer no losses from Hughes’ plundering. Perhaps it’s fair to say he stole not from the authors, but from the readers who believed Hughes’ celebrated prose was uniquely luminous.

TLDR – THE LITERARY DRAMA ROUNDUP

Ottessa Moshfegh’s new(ish) novel “Lapvona” continues to unimpress. For Vulture, the brilliant Andrea Long Chu examined the shortcomings of Moshfegh’s medieval experiment, her impulse toward the scatalogical, and disdain for plus-size bodies. 

CRAFT CORNER

-Are “apron tuggers” the new “bodice rippers”? At Eater, Bettina Makalintal sampled from the smorgasbord of spicy kitchen literotica from the last two years. 

COMINGS AND GOINGS

-Brandon Taylor, author of “Real Life” and “Filthy Animals,” is joining the staff of Unnamed Press as Acquiring Editor (fiction and nonfiction). “Brandon officially starts August 1st and submission queries can be sent to [email protected],” the press said in an announcement. 

-Ocean Vuong, author of “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” and “Time Is A Mother,” is joining the faculty of NYU’s Creative Writing Program as a tenured professor. 

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS

-Random House will publish Salman Rushdie’s forthcoming novel, “Victory City,” in February 2023. 

WRITING PROMPTS AND CHALLENGES

-This week, I discovered author Rebecca Makkai’s efforts to share a different writing prompt for every day of the year with the hashtag #365prompts. Looking for some inspiration? Some examples include: 

  • “Sister Mary Constance has had five affairs.”
  • “There are two women named Polly working in this office, and both are unhappy about it.” 
  • “Clive is forty-five and knows it’s time to learn how to swim.” 

AND EVERYTHING ELSE

-The HarperCollins Union, comprising over 250 HarperCollins employees across departments, authorized a strike if the publishing company’s management does not approve their proposed contract revisions. The union is demanding higher wages, expanded family leave, and a company commitment to diversity and began negotiations with higher-ups in December 2021. A deadline for the strike, and for management’s response, has not been set. 

–Archipelago Books is fundraising for its childrens’ books imprint, Elsewhere Editions, in an art auction that runs until July 18. Featured artists include Nkechi Ebubedike, Patricia Treib, Anusheh Zia, Shanique Emelife, and Patricia A. Bender. 

-Actress Reese Witherspoon chose Bolu Babalola’s “Honey & Spice” for her book club this month. 

-Spotify acquired audiobook distributor Findaway for an undisclosed sum. CEO Daniel Ek nodded to leading industry competitor Amazon Audible and said that Spotify will “play to win” in the space. 

-Following news that author Mike Davis (“Planet of Slums,” “City of Quartz”) is terminally ill, writers across the internet paid tribute to the one-time MacArthur Fellow.

–The New York Times reported on a rising tide of hostility toward librarians as a result of book ban brouhaha. According to the Times, heated debates about which books are sufficiently “inappropriate” for young readers has sparked online and IRL harassment of librarians. (I hate it here.) 

-A cyberattack halted online orders at Macmillan, one of the US’s leading publishers, last week. The publisher is now back in business, and doesn’t expect the publishing dates of forthcoming titles will be affected.   

–The New York Times published yet another deep dive on #BookTok, which in the last year has “made the transition from a novelty to a real anchor for the [publishing] market,” according to one industry representative. 

TIP JAR

Do YOU have absolutely juicy gossip or sizzling hot takes for the bookish? Have you spotted a literary celeb swanning about? No detail is too small; no tea too lukewarm! Channel your inner Gossip Girl and send your updates to [email protected] :~) All will be published anonymously!

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