plagiarism - The Art of the Prank

Here’s the ninth installment of LiteratEye, a series found only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

LiteratEye #9: Plagiarism Anxiety Syndrome
By W.J. Elvin III
April 10, 2009

A fistful of dollars Cheats and liars. They make life interesting, and they hold up a mirror for those of us poised to cast the first stone.

And they can make you wonder, where did I miss out? Where do these smart, crooked people get their tricks? How did I happen to miss the courses in how to pick the pockets of the stocks-and-bonds crowd?

Maybe there are no courses, just a mindset.

Used to be, the higher education mindset was reflected in lofty phrases like “Civium in moribus re publicae salus.” That’s the University of Florida’s motto: “The welfare of the state depends upon the morals of the people.”

What’s Latin for “Screw You Jack, I Got Mine”?

Cheating and lying have to incubate somewhere. Even if there’s no “Advanced Financial Scamming” course offered on campus, there’s likely a climate of corruption. Do a search for “suspected plagiarism” and see for yourself.

The incredible assortment of regulations, rules, policies and procedures demonstrate that these institutions of higher learning suffer from Plagiarism Anxiety Syndrome. Continue reading “LiteratEye #9: Plagiarism Anxiety Syndrome”

Here’s the seventh installment of LiteratEye, a series found only on The Art of the Prank Blog, by W.J. Elvin III, editor and publisher of FIONA: Mysteries & Curiosities of Literary Fraud & Folly and the LitFraud blog.

LiteratEye #7: Faux Poe
By W.J. Elvin III
March 27, 2009

This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe. If you keep track of these things, you’re no doubt amazed at the creative ways people find to connect to the master of the macabre. The calendar is cluttered with related events put on by institutions, communities and individuals nationwide.

Poe offers a goldmine of opportunities for those intrigued by literary fraud, hoaxes, mystifications and riddles. He left behind many puzzles to be solved, in his writing and in how he lived his brief life. For instance, he fought many back-and-forth battles over plagiarism, sometimes the accused and sometimes the accuser. On the other side of it, his fame made him a magnet for forgers, pranksters, satirists and others hitching a ride on his star.

In prowling old literary magazines, an avocation which no doubt fills endless hours of your leisure time, you can hardly help but notice how often others imitated Poe’s style. Digging into it, there is quite a bit of controversy over what he wrote or didn’t write, much of it unresolved. It’s confounding how many lesser lights tried to pass off their work as that of the master. And then there’s the on-going question of how many, if any, succeeded. Continue reading “LiteratEye #7: Faux Poe”