I Have Permission to Write, But Do I Need Permission to Publish?

 

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So there I was, writing yet another poem to go into the book of memorial poems I have been working on for several months, when a thought struck me: What if the family of the person I was writing about got angry at me for even writing this poem?

 

For context, this book of poems is a collection of verse written in memory of people I have known, as well as people I didn’t know. But saying they were people that I didn’t know doesn’t necessarily mean they were complete strangers. Some of those people I didn’t know who I have written memorial poems about include family and friends I knew on social media, but not in real life. I didn’t exactly know them for years, though there are some I knew for years via the internet.

 

Then there are the people I didn’t know personally, but knew about because of their celebrity – such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Ozzy Osbourne. I wrote poems in memory of them sometime after they passed away.

 

But now I’m wondering: Do I need permission to include these poems in my book? What if the family gets angry at me for writing these poems?

 

I had that thought after writing a memorial poem about a cousin whose life ended this summer, and it bothered me that I might experience negativity from her family when that poem is published in the book. It bothered me so much that I reached out to another cousin and asked her if it would be okay to include this poem about our cousin in this book. I also said, “I don't want it to look like I am trying to be a part of something that I am not a part of and I don't want people to get mad at me for writing something about a person I did not know, even if it is written with loving thoughts and kind words.” My cousin replied that she thinks this late cousin’s sister would appreciate the gesture. Just to be on the safe side, I reached out to this sister to start a conversation about it.

 

With family, it might be easy to resolve that problem, because then I could reach out to them about it. With friends, I have done the same. But with celebrities? I am not so sure.

 

Would I need permission to get the poems I wrote in memory of these celebrities published? Their deaths moved me and I felt compelled to write about them. So I wrote poems in their memory – about the lives they lived and the ways they have touched others. They are all positive poems. I don’t say bad things about them. But now I wonder if even getting these poems published would be a problem.    

 

I suppose that, as in every case when it comes to an author being conflicted about something in a book, it would be better to just leave that decision with the publisher. So, that is what I will do, in this case.