WHAT A HEEL: The “W” In Plagiarism
The Stiletto did not know the provenance of “The ‘W’ In Christmas” when she reprinted an excerpt of it (see the Editorial Note) from an E-mail sent to her by AZ Willow, who had received it from a friend who received it from a friend who received it from ... well, you know. It turns out that the touching story has a tawdry back-story, reports The New York Times:
Neale Donald Walsch, author of the best-selling series “Conversations With God,” recently posted a personal Christmas essay on the spiritual Web site Beliefnet.com about his son’s kindergarten winter pageant.
During a dress rehearsal, he wrote, a group of children spelled out the title of a song, “Christmas Love,” with each child holding up a letter. One girl held the “m” upside down, so that it appeared as a “w,” and it looked as if the group was spelling “Christ Was Love.” It was a heartwarming Christmas story from a writer known for his spiritual teachings.
Except it never happened - to him.
Mr. Walsch’s story was nearly identical to an essay by a writer named Candy Chand, which was originally published 10 years ago in Clarity, a spiritual magazine, and has been circulating on the Web ever since. …
In a telephone interview, Mr. Walsch, 65, who said he regularly gave 10 to 20 speeches a year, said he had been retelling the anecdote in public as his own for years. “I am chagrined and astonished that my mind could play such a trick on me,” he said.
Ms. Chand said in a telephone interview that she did not believe Mr. Walsch’s explanation. “If he knew this was wrong, he should have known it was wrong before he got caught,” she said. “Quite frankly, I’m not buying it.” …
“I have strong issue with anyone who would appear to plagiarize my work and pretend it is his own,” she said. “That takes away from the truth of the material, it takes away from the miracle that occurred, because people begin to question what they can believe anymore.
And then Chand skewers the plagiarist but good: Referring to “Conversations With G-d: An Uncommon Dialogue,” she wonders whether Walsch has “heard G-d’s commandments? ‘Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not covet another author’s property’?” Touché!
Editorial Note: In addition to the newsworthiness of this item, The Stiletto is happy to be able to let her readers know the identity of the author of the Christmas essay, and wishes that people who E-mail articles, poems, cartoons and photos essays to their friends and family would take care to include the name of the person who created the work, as well as when and where it was published.
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