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Let's solve this mystery: Is it "How Do You Live Your Dash" or "The Dash"?

There have been some issues about a piece of poetry that has few titles, the one with "The Dash" is copyrighted as per Linda Elllis. Also it has some variants in the body of the poetry.

There were some copyright posts on some forums. So I decided to look into this piece of poetry, that has the footprints of the early 90s era. An era when the email to friends boomed.
So people would send their favorite jokes, advice, feel good emails on mass. This somehow seems to have originated during that era.

Here is some findings that makes you think with so many with different titles from that era and most going signed anonymous or not signed at all. I'll also post my findings to all those issues and where they have appeared in the years continuing from the mid 90s into 2000s.

One of triggers for this research is some posts by an auctioneer named April Brown warning people about this poetry, that's supposed to sooth those who have lost loved ones, has caused her such anguish. Sadly, with futher research I found out she wasn't the only one in that situation. http://www.aprilbrown.com/copyright-infringement-the-das/author/aprilbrown here is the title from that page: ENTRIES BY APRIL BROWN (6) - BEWARE DON'T SHARE BLOG HACKED - Date TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015 AT 9:38AM

Also the most troublesome part is the extrotion letters which contradicts the nature of who a true author is. You would assume poets to be creative and putting their creative energy to better use than extort people. Instead of asking those who are still so unaware, which in the below sample sites you will see, educate them and ask them to correct. What happened to manners? Aparently there are those who use negative energy and resort to extortion letters as you see here: they had to have a site to come to the rescue for exorbitant and mistrepresentation, sending letters not from an actual lawyer.... read and you will find out here: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/getting-help-with-your-extortion-letter

There is even a special forum to report extortion letters by Linda Ellis - check it out at: http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/linda-ellis-lindas-lyrics-dash-poem-letters-forum/

There are also videos on YouTube explaining the issue:


And here is some ELI update on this issue: Matthew Chan & Robert Krausankas discuss the Linda's Lyrics, Linda Ellis, Dash Poem Copyright Extortion Controversy. June 2012.



Here I will list all those links with a little research found out not in any particular order:

This post has a different title: The title here is HOW WILL YOU USE YOUR DASH? and it has a date - Remember the good old beginning of blogging? Those geocities tools and similar ones that popped up in the mid 90s? Here is another one http://www.mastermason.com/ from that era. So that piece of poetry is from that Mastermason site by Bridgeportlodge181.

Remember Angelfire? This is from that mid 90s era and it has different title, "How Do You Live Your Dash?" : http://www.angelfire.com/tn/scooterchase/memorialpoems.html

The issue of establishing when this work was copyrighted:

1. In this page it says it was copyrighted by 1999 by Linda Ellis ==> http://webpages.charter.net/kyarbrough/poemthedash.htm Linda Ellis - copyright 1999 - used by permission and the reference email for Linda Ellis is curiously: lellis@bellsouth.net - I had to research and verify the accuracy of this claim.

There was a book google search turned out and there it mentioned that the following was The Dash's registered in this book Just like his father? but the problem is that when you search by ISBN 09778013-0-6 it turns out this book by by Liane J. Leedom (Author), M.D. (Author) published in October 3, 2006

In a book it was published "The Dash" ISBN 09778013-0-6 - Library of Congress Catalog Number 2006921395 1996 and has this site http://www.lindaellis.net (interestingly the .com must have expired and has bought the .net domaine). Did research on the Library of Congress catalog and only for copyright dates were the following (nothing turned out from 1996, someone please look into this). The Library of Congress catalog turned only the following for Linda Ellis:

Research in Library of Congress Catalog about works copyrighted by Ellis, Linda M.
There happens to be only two works by her copyrighted:
Ellis, Linda M.
Live your dash : make every moment matter / Linda Ellis.
2014
BJ1589 .E45 2014 OVERFLOWJ34?
Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms (FLM2)

Ellis, Linda M.
Live your dash : make every moment matter / Linda Ellis.
2011
SELECT TITLE FOR HOLDINGS INFORMATION

Personal Name Ellis, Linda M.
Main title Live your dash : make every moment matter / Linda Ellis.
Published/Created New York, N.Y. : Sterling Ethos, 2011.
Description
xi, 276 p. ; 24 cm.
Links
Contributor biographical information: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1211/2011277134-b.html
Publisher description: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1211/2011277134-d.html
ISBN

9781402787294
1402787294
LC classification
BJ1589 .E45 2011

Some additional resources:
Research on WebVoyagehttp://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

At this site, the Library Of Congress research:
Use of this form results in a search of the LC Voyager database (approximately 14 million records). This database contains records in all bibliographic formats (i.e., books, serials, music, maps, manuscripts, computer files, and visual materials), and includes the retrospective, unedited older bibliographic records known as the PreMARC File. LC name and subject authority records cannot be searched. This is the only two results I got for 2011 and 2014 only:
Author: Ellis, Linda M.
Title: Live your dash : make every moment matter / Linda
Ellis.
Book Number: OCC019000 POE003000
LC Call No.: BJ1589.E45 2014
More on this record
Author: Ellis, Linda M.
Title: Live your dash : make every moment matter / Linda
Ellis.
Published: New York, N.Y. : Sterling Ethos, 2011.
LC Call No.: BJ1589.E45 2011
Access: Contributor biographical information
Location: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1211/2011277134-b.html
Access: Publisher description
Location: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1211/2011277134-d.html
More on this record


Here is list of sites that seem to be from the 90s:
1. http://cherishyourday.com/I'mGlad.html title is: I'm Glad You Are In My Dash - and Was the dash between those years. (1934-1998)
2. From an organization's website - it's sort of very old format: http://hissheep.org/extras/poems/0%20im_glad_youre_in_my_dash.html title: I'm Glad You're In My Dash

3. Here is from the Tripod era. Remember Tripod? http://wbenton.tripod.com/humor/Jokeindex682.html the title is How Do You Live Your Dash? and author unknown.

4. Mirrored from the old 90s outdated pages now at oocities.org : Title: How Are You Spending Your Dash?

5. seems one of those 90s outdated pages: remember Freepages from the 90s? http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyborn/howuspendurdash.html title: I'm Glad You are in my dash

6. from the '90s another free site on 50megs How Do You Live your Dash?

7. from free sties people could have theirs at Homestead, wow I remember Homstead! HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? is the title

8. on Angelfire from the 90s era http://www.angelfire.com/fl/littlenut/dash.htm How Do You Live Your Dash

9. How Do You Live Your Dash? Author Unknown

10. looks old format - http://www.adhdnews.com/testforum/test2901.htm title: "I am glad you are in my dash"

11. Author Unknown Poems >> How You Spent Your Dash? at http://www.inspirationalstories.com/poems/how-you-spent-your-dash-poem/

12. looks like very old format, got the 90s look title: The Dash of Life

13. No mention of author - on gt40s site: http://www.gt40s.com/forum/paddock/16416-im-glad-youre-my-dash.html Title: I'm glad you are in my dash

14. looks outdated from the 90s - Title: How do you live your dash

15. On Tripod: I'm glad you're in my dash--- (author unknown): http://york1952.tripod.com/york1952deceased/id5.html


From 2000+
1. 2009 HOW DID YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? http://321greetings.com/inspirational/how-did-you-live-your-dash/#.VqAGWCorK72 submitted by Jennifer

2. NOVEMBER 25, 2007
How Do You Live Your Dash? author unknown.

3. from the Philippines blog: How Do You Spend Your Dash? Was the dash between those years. (1934 - 1998) and author unknown

4. at a forum 2004 - author unknown http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/29/t/26436.aspx title I'M GLAD YOU ARE IN MY DASH--

5. A UK site - author unknown http://www.ukpeoplesilversurfers.co.uk/verses/dash.php

6. http://wandascountryhome.com/thedash/index.html

7. published date unknown: http://www.wtv-zone.com/missb123/heavenly/dash.html - author unknown


8. published on google sites - date and publisher unknown https://sites.google.com/site/beyondthemists/the-dash-between the title is: The Dash Between

9. from Medical site: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Spirituality/Im-glad-youre-in-my-dash-/show/1247437 no title, nor author

10. HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH? author unknown - from a musician's page http://www.johnfmorganmusic.com/inspiration/howdoyou.html

11. curiously this page has author Paul An Eulogy – How Do You Live Your Dash? written by Paul in 2010

12. Mentioned at a Yahoo answers page: the person responding said he saw it some 10yrs ago https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090123071636AA1UOIl - posted in 2009

13. http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/the-dash.453379203/ in 2013 - no author

14. 2005 sent to him no author I'm Glad You are in my Dash http://thetalon.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1290

15. Unknown author and asking if someone is the author to contact them http://angelstarcreations.com/linda/favstorinsp/dashhtml.htm

16. On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/romanda.potgieter/posts/633835376629632 RomandaPotgieter July 12, 2013 · Eldoraigne, South Africa - This is so special.
Alison Kapp shared this beautiful poem with me, written by her great aunt, Given Sparrow (her literary nickname), a meaningful message I believe.
How Do You Live Your Dash? THIS IS VERY INTERESTING as this one has the 90s title as "How Do You Live Your Dash" - interesting, when did it start making the rounds as "The Dash"?
So according to this post, actually there is another name attached to this poetry! Aha!

17. 2002 - title: How Do You Live Your Dash?

18. Check this page and the notes by April Brown - it's self-explanatory - http://mikesblog.com/2010/03/how-do-you-live-your-dash.html

18. On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marinda.yvette the title is: How do you live your dash?

19. Old blog perhaps from 2002 http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfnews/may02/random60502.htm -- mentioned who submitted


20. The Dash posted on this message board http://messageboard.4hcm.org/forum/lifestyle-forums/godsquad/1985-in-the-dash


21. On Wordpress: Title: How Do You Live Your Dash? and the years quoted are curiously 1900-1970 - curiously this one is a first, not 1998!!https://gingereebs.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/what-if-we-could-just-slow-down-enough/


22. Here is a book in 2010 that mentions it, saying it's unknown author: check it out at Incest: The Silent Unspeakable Epidemic
By Grandma Gimper being sold on Amazon

NO MENTION OF DATE:
Is in .pdf on GoYourOwnWay.org http://www.goyourownway.org/GOYOUROWNWAY/DOCUMENTS/ALLEGORY/THE%20DASH.pdf

Additional references to this issue: there is actually a site called "copyright trolls"
http://copyright-trolls.com/site/tag/the-dash-poem/

Misc sites:
2015 tribute without mentioning author: http://www.tributes.co.nz/%5Cdata%5C11018.pdf


REFERENCE:
1.Orphan works on US Copyright government site: http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/index.html
2. Poetry forum: http://www.emule.com/2poetry/phorum/list.php?4

MISC info about ISBN:
Why are there different ISBN numbers for the same book?


What to do if you are so confused with all these inconsistencies? That's the million dollar question.
Aparently this has been a major issue and there is a law firm helping out for a nominal fee, as they are overwhelmed with Linda's office sending "extortion" emails:
http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/getting-help-with-your-extortion-letter/

Copyright search form is in this document

The NYPL gave several resources to search and one of them was the Harry Ransom Center of The University of Texas at Austin database for searching "Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders is a database of copyright contacts for writers, artists, and prominent figures in other creative fields." and the name Ellis, Linda didn't return ANYTHING!! Very interesting

And checking the Poetry Foudation's site this is what I got for "The Dash" it didn't have there. The search for poetry and funerals also returned NOTHING at all.

Ahaaa, here is a book thru a forum I was led to and quote: When Linda Ellis wrote her poem, "The Dash", in one afternoon twelve years ago, it would change her life forever. And the book is published in 2013. So I'm not so fond of math, but 2013 and going back 12 years, that puts her publishing of this peotry that was making the rounds in the 90s makes you STOP and say WAIT A MINUTE. Did she just changed the title from "How Do YOu Live Your Dash" and shortened to "The Dash"? Source: https://www.scribd.com/audiobook/237978137/The-Dash So someone has to really look into this and verify further. It's audiobooks: The Dash
by Linda Ellis and Mac Anderson - very interesting! Published: Gildan Audio on Oct 1, 2013. Is there plagiarism involved?

So the big question is, did Ellis, Linda M. actually write the popular poetry that made the rounds since mid 90s? Is someone got smart and added their name to the poetry? Let's hope some Librarians or copyright students, lawyers would clear this mystery. As we know the truth comes out sooner or later. Let's hope there would be a final verdict about this popular poetry's origin! Who's up to it? Who is really the original poetry's author?

In the meantime, if you know someone who got extortion letter for innocently posting, perhaps from some sites that don't know or have author unknown, then there is this website for guidance: http://copyrightantibullyingact.org/site/you-received-linda-elliss-dash-poem-settlement-demand-letter-now-what-caba-law-wants-to-help/

I hope you will find this research helpful.

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