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Z-site: A Companion to the Works of Louis Zukofsky

Copyright Notice by PZ

from Paul Zukofsky

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Far too many people, especially perhaps-innocent grad. students, have been misled into thinking that, in terms ofquoting LZ or CZ, they may do what they want, and do not have to worry about me. These people are then suddenlyfaced with the reality of an irascible, recalcitrant MOI, and are confronted with the very real prospect of years ofwork potentially down the tubes. I therefore wish to post an obvious "do not trespass" sign where LZ aficionados maysee it.

All Louis and Celia Zukofsky is still copyright, and will remain so for many many years. I own all of thesecopyrights, and they are my property, and I insist upon deriving income from that property. For those of youconvinced that LZ would find my stance abhorrent, the truth is that he kept all copyrights (initially in his name) as hehad the rather absurd idea that said copyrights would be sufficient to allow for the economic survival of my mother,and their son. My stance is congruent with that hope.

Despite what you may have been told, you may not use LZ’s words as you see fit, as if you owned them, while youhide behind the rubric of “fair use”. “Fair use” is a very-broadly defined doctrine, of which I take a very narrowinterpretation, and I expect my views to be respected. We can therefore either more or less amicably work out the feesthat I demand; you can remove all quotation; or we can turn the matter over to lawyers, this last solution being theworst of the three, but one which I will use if I need to enforce my rights.

In general, as a matter of principle, and for your own well-being, I urge you to not work on Louis Zukofsky, andprefer that you do not. Working on LZ will be far more trouble than it is worth. You will be far more appreciatedworking on some author whose copyright holder(s) will actually cherish you, and/or your work. I do not, and no oneshould work under those conditions. However, if you have no choice in the matter, here are the procedures that I insistupon, and what you must do if you wish to spare yourself as much grief as possible.

1-- people who want to do their dissertation on LZ, or want to quote from him in their diss., must, if only as acommon courtesy, inform me of their desire to use this material, and obtain my permission to do so. If you do that,and if I agree, the permission will be only for the purposes of the diss. and there will be no charge for limited usewithin the diss. You will not be allowed to distribute the diss. publicly. Distribution via on-line publication is notallowed. I urge you to keep quotation to a minimum, as the more quotation, the less likely I am to grant permission.

2-- people who quote Louis Zukofsky in their dissertations without having had the courtesy to request my permission,and who do so without having obtained my permission to quote LZ, do not have permission to use LZ quotations, andwill, in the future, be refused all permission to quote any and all LZ in their future publications, and I promise to domy utmost to hamper, hinder, and preferably prevent all such quotation.

3-- people who obtain copies of LZ manuscripts, marginalia, etc. etc. such as at UTexas or elsewhere, and who havenot first requested and received my permission to have such copies made, will thereafter be refused permission to use

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Editorial Notes . Textual Notes . LZ Chronology . Copyright Notice by PZ . Search ©2005 by Jeffrey Twitchell-Waas

All materials by Louis Zukofsky quoted herein are copyright © Paul Zukofsky

any such materials in any of their future publications. Note that fair use is far more restrictive on unpublished materialthan on already published material.

4-- people who wish to perform LZ or CZ (“A-24”; the “Masque” etc) require performance rights from me. A fee willbe charged. People who wish to set LZ to music also require permission to do so.

5-- I forbid so-called electronic "publication". People may not quote LZ in their "blogs".

6-- if you proceed to the point of publishing articles in journals, books etc, or if you publish a book, you must obtainmy permission to quote, and fees will be charged. Once again I urge you to quote as little as possible. That willminimize your cost.

Final points.

I can perhaps understand your misguided interest in literature, music, art, etc. I would be suspicious of your interest inLouis Zukofsky, but might eventually accept it. I can applaud your desire to obtain a job, any job, although why inyour chosen so-called profession is quite beyond me; but one line you may not cross i.e. never never ever tell me thatyour work is to be valued by me because it promotes my father. Doing that will earn my life-long permanent enmity.Your self-interest(s) I may understand, perhaps even agree with; but beyond that, in the words of e.e.cummingsquoting Olaf: “there is some s I will not eat”.

Next, other than for the following, I am not trying to censor you. I hardly give a damn what is said about my father (Iam far more protective of my mother) as long as the name is spelled properly, and the fees are paid. My interest isalmost purely economic. That being said, I do not approve of delving into the personal lives of my parents. If youwish to spend your time worrying if LZ did or did not shtupp alligators, that is your problem, but I will not approvequotation. That is not scholarship. That is gossip, and beneath contempt.

Third, do not lie, or try to dissemble. If I ask for something, and you agree, be certain that you do it. If I find out afterthe fact that you have not, there will be trouble.

Finally, when all else fails, and you remain hell-bent on quoting LZ, but you really, really REALLY do not want todeal with me, or you have been stupidly advised to try to circumvent me -- remind yourself again and again, and yetonce more, what Lyndon Baines Johnson’s said about J. Edgar Hoover i.e.: “I’d rather have him inside the tent pissingout, than outside pissing in”.

PZ

Hong Kong

Sept. 17, 2009

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