Can anyone tell me whether Paul is serious?
On Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 6:51 PM, Kevin Driscoll <[email protected]> wrote: > Just came across a brilliant copyright notice penned by the son of > Louis Zukofsky. Among its finer moments is one passage in which he > plainly discourages the reader from studying his father's works and > another in which he threatens to sue graduate students who do not heed > his warning. > > http://www.z-site.net/copyright-notice-by-pz/ > > Can anyone recommend similarly atypical copyright notices? > > Kevin > > -- > > Full text: > > Copyright Notice by PZ > > from Paul Zukofsky > > > TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN > > Far too many people, especially perhaps-innocent grad. students, have > been misled into thinking that, in terms of quoting LZ or CZ, they may > do what they want, and do not have to worry about me. These people are > then suddenly faced with the reality of an irascible, recalcitrant > MOI, and are confronted with the very real prospect of years of work > potentially down the tubes. I therefore wish to post an obvious "do > not trespass" sign where LZ aficionados may see it. > > All Louis and Celia Zukofsky is still copyright, and will remain so > for many many years. I own all of these copyrights, and they are my > property, and I insist upon deriving income from that property. For > those of you convinced that LZ would find my stance abhorrent, the > truth is that he kept all copyrights (initially in his name) as he had > the rather absurd idea that said copyrights would be sufficient to > allow for the economic survival of my mother, and their son. My stance > is congruent with that hope. > > Despite what you may have been told, you may not use LZ’s words as you > see fit, as if you owned them, while you hide behind the rubric of > “fair use”. “Fair use” is a very-broadly defined doctrine, of which I > take a very narrow interpretation, and I expect my views to be > respected. We can therefore either more or less amicably work out the > fees that I demand; you can remove all quotation; or we can turn the > matter over to lawyers, this last solution being the worst of the > three, but one which I will use if I need to enforce my rights. > > In general, as a matter of principle, and for your own well-being, I > urge you to not work on Louis Zukofsky, and prefer that you do not. > Working on LZ will be far more trouble than it is worth. You will be > far more appreciated working on some author whose copyright holder(s) > will actually cherish you, and/or your work. I do not, and no one > should work under those conditions. However, if you have no choice in > the matter, here are the procedures that I insist upon, and what you > must do if you wish to spare yourself as much grief as possible. > > 1-- people who want to do their dissertation on LZ, or want to quote > from him in their diss., must, if only as a common courtesy, inform me > of their desire to use this material, and obtain my permission to do > so. If you do that, and if I agree, the permission will be only for > the purposes of the diss. and there will be no charge for limited use > within the diss. You will not be allowed to distribute the diss. > publicly. Distribution via on-line publication is not allowed. I urge > you to keep quotation to a minimum, as the more quotation, the less > likely I am to grant permission. > > 2-- people who quote Louis Zukofsky in their dissertations without > having had the courtesy to request my permission, and who do so > without having obtained my permission to quote LZ, do not have > permission to use LZ quotations, and will, in the future, be refused > all permission to quote any and all LZ in their future publications, > and I promise to do my utmost to hamper, hinder, and preferably > prevent all such quotation. > > 3-- people who obtain copies of LZ manuscripts, marginalia, etc. etc. > such as at UTexas or elsewhere, and who have not first requested and > received my permission to have such copies made, will thereafter be > refused permission to use any such materials in any of their future > publications. Note that fair use is far more restrictive on > unpublished material than on already published material. > > 4-- people who wish to perform LZ or CZ (“A-24”; the “Masque” etc) > require performance rights from me. A fee will be charged. People who > wish to set LZ to music also require permission to do so. > > 5-- I forbid so-called electronic "publication". People may not quote > LZ in their "blogs". > > 6-- if you proceed to the point of publishing articles in journals, > books etc, or if you publish a book, you must obtain my permission to > quote, and fees will be charged. Once again I urge you to quote as > little as possible. That will minimize your cost. > > Final points. > > I can perhaps understand your misguided interest in literature, music, > art, etc. I would be suspicious of your interest in Louis Zukofsky, > but might eventually accept it. I can applaud your desire to obtain a > job, any job, although why in your chosen so-called profession is > quite beyond me; but one line you may not cross i.e. never never ever > tell me that your work is to be valued by me because it promotes my > father. Doing that will earn my life-long permanent enmity. Your > self-interest(s) I may understand, perhaps even agree with; but beyond > that, in the words of e.e.cummings quoting Olaf: “there is some s I > will not eat”. > > Next, other than for the following, I am not trying to censor you. I > hardly give a damn what is said about my father (I am far more > protective of my mother) as long as the name is spelled properly, and > the fees are paid. My interest is almost purely economic. That being > said, I do not approve of delving into the personal lives of my > parents. If you wish to spend your time worrying if LZ did or did not > shtupp alligators, that is your problem, but I will not approve > quotation. That is not scholarship. That is gossip, and beneath > contempt. > > Third, do not lie, or try to dissemble. If I ask for something, and > you agree, be certain that you do it. If I find out after the fact > that you have not, there will be trouble. > > Finally, when all else fails, and you remain hell-bent on quoting LZ, > but you really, really REALLY do not want to deal with me, or you have > been stupidly advised to try to circumvent me -- remind yourself again > and again, and yet once more, what Lyndon Baines Johnson’s said about > J. Edgar Hoover i.e.: “I’d rather have him inside the tent pissing > out, than outside pissing in”. > > PZ > > Hong Kong > > Sept. 17, 2009 > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.freeculture.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > FAQ: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Fc-discuss > _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.freeculture.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss FAQ: http://wiki.freeculture.org/Fc-discuss
