I have been quoting texts from work by other authors to set alongside my images for the Always Follow Ur Dreams!! In fact, I have been considering whether to use only quotations rather than text I have written. I thought it would be wise to check on copyright restrictions and how this might affect my plans.
The short answer is that it is a significant problem. Short quotations can generally be used in critical texts for educational purposes without concerns over copyright. However, since I would wish my work to be able to be published, I would need to gain permissions to publish any quotations in my work. Quotations from authors who have been dead for 70 years are outside of copyright. I checked on the Random House Website (they are the publishers of Monica Ali’s Brick Lane) to see what their policy on this is. They state that they require people to apply for permission and that as a minimum they would charge £75 if they decide to agree.
The reality is that this is a minefield and unless the quotations were an absolutely critical element of my work I would be better off avoiding them. So with this in mind I have drafted my own texts based on the research I have done to date. The language is not so colourful, but I have borrowed phrases from my source texts which give a flavour of the times I am referring to. For example I have referred to Lascar sailors as ‘sons of India’ as per the text by Joseph Salter. In a way I think I prefer the new approach. I found the repetition of references to third parties quite distracting to the flow of piece.
I have also been trying out how the work would look in book format. Click on the image below to see a pdf file of a draft Blurb book.
ALWAYS FOLLOW UR DREAMS!! – Book Mock up
©Keith Greenough 2013
Afterthought Friday 15th : The book pdf has been updated in the light of the comments received and to correct a couple of spelling mistakes.
photo-graph 
clk55pete
November 15, 2013
That’s ridiculous Keith, and a real pity. Just having read the captions once, there seems to be a good balance between the personal where you name individuals and social where you talk about issues like Lascars being dumped. I also think the amount of text is about right in terms of keeping the flow and balance between the visual and written.
My only query would be that some images seem much more directly related to the statements than others so for example, the image and text of the Rev Mr Covanant and his house at Fournier street is very strong whereas I am less clear wither the image of Narrow street is where foreign sailors were set down or whether the park in the last photo is a site of racial attack. Good luck.
Keith Greenough
November 15, 2013
Thanks for the feedback Pete…much appreciated. You could be right about the texts…they are a bit uneven at the moment. I have been balancing not being too prescriptive against leaving the images too open contextually. Getting feedback from others is a good way of judging if I have got it right….
Catherine
November 15, 2013
I was only thinking about quotations a couple of days ago when I was reading a novel that had quite a few and that also got me to wondering about the Copyright issue. Thanks for informing me of this Keith. I think you’ve found a good way round this.
The PDFC kept jumping around ( is this a Lightroom Blurb version as I didn’t know you could do some ‘proofs’ in that way but had to order a cheaper version of the book as a ‘proof’) but I certainly got the sense of what you were saying. When you refer to Oswald Mosley I remember going on an OCA Study Visit to the Whitechapel Gallery a while back when the EDL league were demonstrating – times don’t really change that much!
Keith Greenough
November 15, 2013
Yes a bit of a problem but it clears the way a little for me. I will draft all the texts relying on the sources I’ve already identified. I plan to use some of their colourful expressions to add interest.
With the Blurb book I did a version with Booksmart and then printed it to a pdf file. It puts their logo across the pages to stop people just printing their own books. Not sure why the pdf is jumping around…works fine on my mac???
You are right that not much changes…this is just the point I am making in the text for the Altab Ali park photo!!
Eileen
November 17, 2013
A pity about the quotations Keith, but I’m sure your alternative will work fine.
Personally I rather liked the fact that the text didn’t obviously relate to some of the images and left room for me to wonder.