Thursday, February 18, 2010

Mixing is not Plagiarism... really?!?

I know this is a stretch because it's a long way from the current affairs that we usually talk about in Government... but... I can't resist hearing your thoughts about 17 year-old German author Helene Hegemann's new novel and the controversy (outrage?) over her "sampling" full pages from another author in her work. Interestingly, Ms. Hegemann has apologized for "not being more open about her sources." She did not apologize for using another writer's words without permission, though... she claims that "there's no such thing as originality anyway." UGH! I'm stunned that Hegemann's novel is up to #5 on the German best-seller list... and it's been nominated for a prestigious writing prize, too. Read the full story HERE and then post your comments...