One of Canada’s former poet laureates is being accused of plagiarizing the works of well known English-language authors in a book that has since been taken off the shelves.
U.K.-based poetry sleuth Ira Lightman went public in The Guardian newspaper over the weekend about his investigation into Pierre DesRuisseaux.
DesRuisseaux died in January 2016.
Lightman says DesRuisseaux’s “Tranches de vie,” a book of French language poetry published in 2013, lifted works from various authors, including Maya Angelou, Dylan Thomas and even late rap artist Tupac Shakur.
He says in an interview he doesn’t want to besmirch a lifetime of work, but adds an acknowledgment of the uncredited work was necessary.
Montreal-based publisher Editions du Noroit said Monday that only between 50 and 100 copies of the book were sold and that it has since been removed from shelves.