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Pierre DesRuisseaux, who died last year, served as the parliamentary poet laureate between 2009 and 2011, and has now been accused of plagiarising the work of up to 20 poets, among them world-famous names and unknown teenage girls who have posted their work online. The late poet Maya Angelou was among the authors plagiarised by DesRuisseaux The late poet Maya Angelou was among the authors plagiarised by DesRuisseaux Credit: Wayne Miller/Magnum/BBC The duplicity was unearthed by poet and literary sleuth Ira Lightman, a member of a Facebook group called Plagiarism Alerts, whose mission involves tracking down plagiarism in the poetry world. Lightman was tipped off by a Canadian poet named Kathy Figueroa, who noticed that an English translation of DesRuisseaux's J'avance (which translates to "I Rise") bore an uncanny resemblance to Maya Angelou's celebrated poem Still I Rise. DesRuisseaux's work reads: "You can wipe me from the pages of history / with your twisted falsehoods / you can drag me through the mud / but like the wind, I rise." In comparison, Angelou's poem reads: "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies / You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I'll rise." The legendary rapper Tupac Shakur had his personal poetry plagiarised by DesRuisseaux The legendary rapper Tupac Shakur had his personal poetry plagiarised by DesRuisseaux Lightman also discovered that DesRuisseaux's poem When I'm Alone was heavily lifted from a poem written by the pioneering rap star Tupac Shakur titled Sometimes I Cry. Sometimes I Cry reads: "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." Meanwhile, 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." DesRuisseaux's book, Tranches de vie, has been pulled from shelves in light of the revelations DesRuisseaux's book, Tranches de vie, has been pulled from shelves in light of the revelations Figueroa told Canada's CBC News that DesRuisseaux's widespread plagiarism came as a shock: "It was just mind-boggling, the audacity of someone to do something like that it. It was almost unbelievable." Upon the discovery of the plagiarism, DesRuisseaux's Montreal-based publishers Éditions du Noroît pulled the book from shelves, while claiming that only between 50 and 100 copies of the book had actually been sold. The company's CEO, Pierre Belanger, also defended DesRuisseaux's actions by revealing that he had been suffering from a degenerative brain disorder in the years leading up to his death, and may have mistaken existing work for his own. 15 best poetry books of all time Related Topics * Canada * Show more * * * * Follow Telegraph Books * Follow on Twitter * Follow on Facebook * Follow on Instagram (BUTTON) Show comments If you would like to add a comment, please register or log in Register Log in Please review our commenting policy Follow Telegraph Books * Follow on Twitter * Follow on Facebook * Follow on Instagram IFRAME: http://widgethost.barnebys.com/widget/telegraph/9/int/ Books latest 1. David Walliams 15 Jan 2018, 9:30pm David Walliams is biggest selling author of 2017 2. Culture stars who died in 2018: from Motörhead's Fast Eddie to Dolores O'Riordan Gallery 15 Jan 2018, 7:54pm Gallery: Culture stars who died in 2018: from Motörhead's Fast Eddie to Dolores O'Riordan 3. 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