The Decade's Best Copyright

Copyright is usually a bland little statement. Found at the front of a book, it fulfills a legal function, establishing ownership of content and nothing more.

It doesn't have to be that way — the copyright is an element that can be toyed with, and Ken Kalfus, in his short story collection "Thirst," does just that. In a clever and playful inversion of the form, Kalfus makes a standard statement — "Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved" — reveal the silliness of trying to control every eventuality in which words can be put to use, and renders funny (and very human) the person behind the legal claim. The usual "No part of this work may be reproduced in any form" becomes "No part ... may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means," including, in addition to the expected electronic means, telepathy, telefax, semaphore, whisper, skywriting and rare vellum. "Without written permission" goes on to list all the exceptions to that rule, such as "brief quotations embodied in articles, reviews ... halftime shows, and literary prize announcements," and ends with the note that in the event of a permission request, the author "quite frankly, would be flattered to get mail of this sort."

— Jessica Chapel (jnc at flakmag dot com)