Jonathan Lethem is an accomplished fiction, short story, and non-fiction author. Lethem has also freelanced for magazines such as Rolling Stone. Lethem and I share a similar passion for the music of Bob Dylan. In his essay "The Ecstasy of Influence" Lethem takes note of the industry of borrowing and influence--which he in essence describes as a certain kind of plagiarism. Dylan borrows, or pays homage, in many of his scores of studio albums. Lethem basically says that his stories should not be pirated and stolen, but that his ideas can be used to influence something original.
In essence Lethem says that everything is plagiarism because there is nothing original anymore. Ideas have to come from somewhere. They have to be influenced by something. Lethem says "You, reader, are welcome to my stories. They were never mine in the first place, but I gave them to you. If you have the inclination to pick them up, take them with my blessing."
Lethem is granting permission for people to use his ideas. He accepts that people have influences and they like paying homage to those influences. Instead of attacking those people like his idol Salinger did, Lethem simply asks that the dues he is owed are paid by those looking for fresh ideas. Lethem is essentially changing the connotation of plagiarism from negative to positive in his article.
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