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April 24, 2006

It's Not Plagarism, It's "Internalization"

Good heavens.

Lamest excuse ever.

Kaavya Viswanathan's "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life," published in March by Little, Brown and Company, was the first of a two-book deal reportedly worth six figures. But on Sunday, the Harvard Crimson cited seven passages in Viswanathan's book that closely resemble the style and language of the novels of Megan McCafferty.

"When I was in high school, I read and loved two wonderful novels by Megan McCafferty, `Sloppy Firsts' and `Second Helpings,' which spoke to me in a way few other books did. Recently, I was very surprised and upset to learn that there are similarities between some passages in my novel ... and passages in these books," Viswanathan, 19, said in a statement issued by her publisher.

"While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn't aware of how much I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty's words. I am a huge fan of her work and can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious. My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities.

Man, I wished I'd thought to "internalize" the works of Stephen King or Tom Clancy when I was in college. Maybe that would have gotten me a book deal.

Some poetry I just wrote:

Do not go easily into that dark part of day,
Old age should flame and rage at that dusky hour;
Get angry, get angry becuase the light is going away.

Though smart men as they lay dying know dark is okay,
Because their many phrases had forked no lightning they
Did not go easily into that dark part of day.

It's not done yet, but I'm still "internalizing," so I should finish it sometime soon. (Apologies to Dylan Thomas)

Posted by slublog at April 24, 2006 07:58 PM

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