"For arrogance and hatred are the wares / Peddled in the thoroughfares"

[larryhammer]

Bits of languages:

"Most of the time, I feel a little bit sorry for people who make horrendous translation mistakes. This is not one of those times." (via)

Finding lost languages in palimpsests with bonus library geekery. Note that these aren't previously unknown languages, but new texts for known lost ones. (via)

Inside the world of professional poetry plagiarism. (via lost)

---L.

Subject quote from "A Prayer for My Daughter," W. B. Yeats.

Comments

[shewhomust]

What's your take on the poetry / plagiarism story? In particular, I didn't know what to make of the 'it was among my papers and I forgot I hadn't written it' defence - do you find it plausible? (Declaration of interest: I know a number of the people involved / quoted in the northeast England part of the story).

[larryhammer]

There's a fair amount of dubiousness on all sides. I'm not very sympathetic to that defense -- I can imagine it being true once, but even a second time strains credulity. Aside from that, I'm still pondering what to think of it all.