Seems Athletes Aren’t the Only Ones Using this Excuse

In Baltimore, Rafael Palmeiro, who pointed his finger at Congress and swore, under oath, “”I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period,” was caught actually using one of the most potent steroids available. After caught and suspended by Major League Baseball, he tried to amend his statement to Congress. Now, he says “I did not do this intentionally.”

Seems plagiarizing authors are also using that same excuse.

Here’s a sample:

Book A, published in 1989: “I could drink sleep,” she said, “I could eat it. I could roll around in my dreams like a pig in mud.”

Book B, published in 2005: Now I could drink sleep. I could eat it. I could roll around in my dreams like a pig in mud.

Or another sample:

Book A, published in 1938: “But you believe, don’t you,” Rose implored him, “you think it’s true?” “‘Of course it’s true,” the Boy said. “What else could there be?” he went scornfully on. “Why,” he said, “it’s the only thing that fits…” “And Heaven too,” Rose said with anxiety…

Book B, published in 2005: “But you believe, don’t you?” I implored her. “You think it’s true.” “Of course it’s true. What else could there be?” she went on scornfully. “Because it’s the only thing that fits…” “And Heaven too,” I said with anxiety.

The controversy surrounds a bestselling book in Britain called Rock Me Gently by first time author Judith Kelly. But “coincidences” like the ones above have caused the publisher, Bloomsbury, to put the paperback release of the book on hold. A publisher’s spokesperson said “We take responsibility for the book and we have withdrawn it until we can be certain there be will no further problems.”

There are striking similarities between text in Rock Me Gently and a 1989 book called Fludd and even Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock and Charlotte Bront??’s Jane Eyre.

But here’s the funny part… it’s not plagiarism, but rather, a photographic memory. So, like Palmeiro, she didn’t intentionally do it. Bloomsbury senior editor Alexandra Pringle said that the author “has a remarkable memory, and during the decade in which she was working on her book, some of her wide-ranging reading emerged in her own prose without her realising it.”

Wow. Anyway, check out a full article on this incident here. And check out the site where I learned about this story, Maud Newton’s blog, here.