Talk:Desiderata

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Desiderata is part of WikiProject Poetry, a WikiProject related to Poetry.
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[edit] Redundant external links

Moved out of the main article, as they all seem to be just copies of the text, and we only need one of that. Feel free to re-add with sufficient explanation of what extra value they add. (Links are insufficient, see Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a web directory) JesseW 05:43, 13 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Hoax?

Hoax seems rather strong for what was pretty certainly just a misunderstanding. Our own definition says it's a deliberate attempt to trick. Since we have no way of knowing what the intent of the person who originally distributed it that way, probably the word "misattribution" is better. The word "hoax" is both biased and original research. --Dhartung | Talk 05:53, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The?

The writer(s) of the current version use 'The Desiderata', some of the time. While this tallies with the title of the published work, surely the 'the' is not usually applied? At the very least we should be consistent. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 202.64.168.196 (talk • contribs) .

True enough. Most of them just disappear after rewording. --Dhartung | Talk 06:42, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Possible copyright violation

The page [1] contained (among other things) the full text of the poem. Now in its place there is the following notice:

DESIDERATA is copyrighted material, and can not be reproduced or sold without permision. Any violation is the basis for legal action. Books containing DESIDERATA are published by Crown Publishers, N.Y.C. and can be obtained from Tim Tiley Ltd., Bristol. The author was Max Ehrmann. Other permissions must be obtained from the owner of the copyright -- Robert L. Bell, 427 South Shore Drive, Sarasota, Florida, USA 34234.

Regardless of the US copyright status, since the author died in 1945, the text should be copyright in all countries that use the "year of death + 70" rule

I added this clarification, but I have since come to the conclusion that the work is not in copyright in the United States based on the 1976 court decision and the recognition by the Registrar of Copyrights that it was precedential.
The copyright was in its second term as of the Copyright Act of 1976, extending its termination to 2002, and as of the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, to 2022.
If there are non-US jurisdictions where the copyright holds, we should document those (I know the work has been translated). Certainly Bell is currently publishing the poem in the US in various Desiderata: Subtitle forms but with ancillary material surrounding it. This isn't an argument for or against including the text of the poem, but I personally don't think that it's an issue. --Dhartung | Talk 13:44, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Translation of Desiderata

Wikipedia page on Max Ehrmann states "Desiderata" is Latin for: "something desired as essential" instead of "desired things". Which one is correct? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.6.164.50 (talk) 14:44, 20 December 2006 (UTC).

The "essential" is Ehrmann's gloss. The simpler meaning is correct, to my knowledge, but there isn't much practical difference between them. wiktionary --Dhartung | Talk 07:47, 25 February 2007 (UTC)