Bare Ruined Choirs copyrighted...I think

Bare Ruined Choirs is a special book for me. It is a gift, a legacy, to my first wife, Barbara Jean Kepler, who passed away in 2003. The book is a record of my "life within a life," a compilation of all the poems written during those times: courtship, parenthood, the health and the sickness, the love and the scattering of the ashes.

The United States Copyright Office has an electronic copyright submission process--cost, $35--and I believe I've completed that process with my poetry book Bare Ruined Choirs.

Why the hesitation?

The process takes three steps:

1. application
2. pay
3. submit the work

The site includes a tutorial, but the only problem was that the tutorial didn't exactly match the actual screen steps. At a couple of places, the screen should have popped up with "Done!" and "Congratulations, you have successfully submitted your application!" I never received those happy-face moments.

At one point, the gov.pay link would not take my money. Now, what's that all about--when the U.S. government refuses to take your money?! Later the site posted a message that there was a problem that might have affected "a few" customers. Right....

I received no friendly verifications during the process, but I have received emails stating that the copyright office has received my registration claim application, my application fee, and my book file...so I think I'm OK. They have my request, my money, and my book. That should do it.

Next, I want to get a Library of Congress cataloging number, and then I'm fairly close to completing the process. I'm learning a lot and am excited as much about the possibilities of applying my new knowledge to my teaching as to the publication of this book.

I'll let you know when Bare Ruined Choirs is published, and I hope you read it.

Copyright 2009 by Thomas L. Kepler, all rights reserved