The publication Where the Leaves Fall reached out to me to solicit a translation submission from me a while back. They followed up after their request in ONE DAY when I didn’t reply, asking for a submission, and I took time out of my busy schedule (while I already dealing with the stress of settlement discussions with the British Museum over copyright issues) to send them several poems to choose from.
In my very first email to the publication, I linked to this guide that explained how copyrights and contracts work for publishing translation, which clearly states specifically that permission is needed both from the copyright holder of the original AND the translation, and what to be careful of when drafting contracts for each. I also stated I could help facilitate the obtaining of permission, as in I can communicate with the poet and share a contract with the poet on their behalf.
However, Where the Leaves Fall never bothered to give any contracts to me or the poet (Xiao Xi) that I translate. Instead, they went directly to print after I sent the final poem they chose and author/translator bios and photos. They also didn’t show us proofs, despite the fact they were publishing the Chinese original, which they cannot read and have no idea if they’re displaying correctly.
I ask them to cease and desist in publishing our work, and to remove the poem/translation as well as our names from their publication. If you see copies of the magazine with Xiao Xi’s poem and my translation being distributed, please note that this was done without contracts and proper etiquette.
A similar incident happened earlier this year with another magazine, but the publication that went to print without contracts apologized and resolved matters with me and the poet, as well as learned from the experience and made steps to correct it in the future, which we greatly appreciate.
I am deeply disappointed in my experiences interacting with Where the Leaves Fall. They owe not only me, but especially the poet Xiao Xi, who they never gave a contract or proof (of the Chinese poem) to, a public apology. I feel their behavior is deeply unprofessional, and I stand by what I said. I also feel it is reckless, disrespectful, and racist to publish Chinese text that you cannot read without showing it to the poet/translator for approval, as this could have led to so many errors.
Going forward, the poets and I work with will be strictly enforcing the rule that we will not be signing any contracts retroactively for any publication, if our works are published without signed contracts already in place.
