Open Source Poetry

Wow! I just Googled that again and what did I find but yet another intriguing debate on the subject. Well, since their conversation wasn't technically copyrighted either... I'll take the liberty of reprinting some of their opinions here:

Gurdit: "I like the idea of open source. I also make it a point to link back or mention every website/software/person whose help I have used on my website/other. I wouldn’t mind people copying portions/entire texts of my poetry/blog posts, as long as they have the decency not to claim it to be their own entirely, and perhaps to link back."

Slices: "True poetry lies beyond words, and words are public, anyway. Which goes to say… I don’t think you can really *steal* someone’s poetry, just the words - and copying those makes you a lousy poet in any terms…"

And I really enjoyed this one--

Harvey A. Ramer: "I draw everyone’s attention to the word “source” in the phrase “open source.” Hmmm. What is the “source” of poetry?

There’s a certain sense in which any true poet or gifted author is happy to share the source of their inspiration and working methods with anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps … that’s what I think pertains to the discussion of open source poetry.

Anyone engaged in a creative endeavor is entitled to payment for their work … it just so happens that with software, creating an open source code base and giving it away has financial rewards that are often commensurate with the risks. If there was no financial reward or potential to be had from open source collaboration, no business would undertake it. Personal and organizational partnerships would still form.

I said all that to say this: Poetry has no clear code base on which a poet can build economic value by giving it away. Like music, all the poet gains from giving it away is exposure for public events.

The world feels they are entitled to free creative works. They (we) are not!

Wow! Why did I type all this? :)"

Why? Because you just practiced what you preach. Wasn't this neat little comment a "creative endeavor"? And you just posted it without idea of payment of any kind. This is a free creative work. Maybe we weren't entitled to hearing it, but we did, and we enjoyed it. Does everything need to be motivated by money???