Published in Translation - Restrictions?

cliffwalker

Some of my poetry has been translated then published in a Romanian arts magazine. Does this count as 'published' with regards to the UK market? i.e. could I enter the English version for a competition or send for submission as 'unpublished' given that it has never been published in the UK?

Carol

A lot of the time that means published anywhere.
You could only know for certain by e-mailing the organiser and asking if the translation in Romania rules it out.

Tiny Nell

I think it would probably be alright to enter in English as it won't have been read anywhere in its original version. Translations aren't exact anyway.

Liz

I'd check - because you can't claim that the translation Is a different poem, because it was translated FROM the poem. You wouldn't say a translation of William Carlos Willams' poem, This is Just To Say, was not the same poem in different translations would you?

If that was true, someone could publish a poem on a website with no visitors and say it wasn't read so isn't published. Or publish a book of their poems and say no-one bought it...

cliffwalker

Yes, I see what you are all saying. Thank you. I need to think long and hard before allowing work to be published outside the UK in the future, then!

Liz

No, because copyright remains with you.

Poetry isn't like a novel - if you get a collection together and send it to a publisher it won't matter if some of it has been published before, in fact it will mean someone likes it and this will help your case.

Unless you only send to competitions and are not gathering a manuscript.

Just write more poems for the comptetitions!

cliffwalker

Thanks Liz, that's a great help. I will do just that!