A Canadian poet has been accused of ripping off the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Pierre DesRuisseaux, who died last year, seems to have been a little too inspired by Tupac’s poem “Sometimes I Cry.”
Translated from French, DesRuisseaux’s poem “When I’m Alone” reads:
Sometimes when I’m alone I cry
Because I’m alone.
The tears I cry are bitter and burning.
They flow with life, they do not need reason.
Those words are almost identical to Tupac’s.
Sometimes when I’m alone I cry
Because I’m on my own
The tears I cry are bitter and warm
They flow with life but take no form
British poet Ira Lightman says DesRuisseaux’s 2013 book Tranches de vie is mostly a collection of translations of the works of others — including Maya Angelou and Dylan Thomas — without attribution.
DesRuisseaux won the Governor General’s Award for French-language poetry in 1989 and was a former Canadian poet laureate.
Montreal-based publisher Éditions du Noroît has reportedly pulled the book from sale.