Clarification of my publishing policy

1. Clarification of my publishing policy

Because of some intemperate comments from some of you, it seemed to me appropriate to explain my views on publication of literature that is either in the public domain, or readily available from many easily accessible sources. It is simple: anyone may disseminate such material and the only credit that need be given is to the original author. I have not felt it necessary to credit libraries, textbooks, newspapers or anthologies as previous disseminators of poems, and I have a similar policy toward my fellow electronic disseminators. Naturally, if someone has written the poems he publishes on his blog, I must ask his permission before I quote him; or if someone has himself translated a poem by someone else, I will ask his permission. But no-one in the blogging world feels it is at all necessary to credit other bloggers for having disseminated well-known and readily available material. For one thing, on what grounds would blogger A suppose blogger B obtained the poem from him, rather than from a library or a textbook? And for another, simply quoting someone else's work, without having added anything to it, gives no one any rights in it. Obviously.

2. Because of the intemperate nature of some of the comments I have received - from very few persons, I am happy to say, since most of you are sweet-natured and supportive, and a joy to hear from - I am now screening the comments which will appear on my blog. Since I have very little time lately to spend on what is only a hobby, undertaken for the love of the literature, this may mean that even your sweet-natured and supportive comments may be slow to appear. That is too bad, but we all know how some people can spoil a pleasant situation for all the rest. Please bear with me and all this will pass

You friend and fellow lover of Gujarati poetry, SV