'''Brad Vice''' (b. 1973) is a Fiction writer whose Short_story collection, ''The Bear_Bryant Funeral Train'', won the Flannery_O'Connor_Award_for_Short_Fiction from the University_of_Georgia Press. When the Press discovered that one of the stories in the collection was based on a section of the 1934 book ''Stars Fell on Alabama'' by Carl_Carmer, the Press accused Vice of Plagiarism and made the controversial decision to revoke his prize and destroy all copies of the book. A number of commentators and Editors protested this decision, saying that Vice made no attempt to hide what he did and was merely adapting a classic literary work to a new age. Others, though, agreed that Vice had plagiarized the story. == Biography == Vice was born in Tuscaloosa,_Alabama in 1973 and raised in Northport,_Alabama. Vice's father, Leon Vice, worked as a high school history teacher and a farmer while his mother Dorothy worked as a radiology technician.{{ref|MSwriterpg}} According to Vice, he spent his summers working on his grandparents’ cattle farm and reading. In 1994, he graduated with a Bachelor_of_Arts from the the University_of_Alabama; he subsequently earned a Master's_degree from the University_of_Tennessee and a Doctor_of_Philosophy from the University_of_Cincinnati. He worked briefly as an assistant professor of the English_language at Arkansas_Tech_University before joining Mississippi_State_University as an assistant professor. He currently serves as faculty advisor to Sigma_Tau_Delta, the international English honor society. == Writing == Vice's fiction falls within the genre of Southern_literature and has appeared in many magazines and journals, including ''The_Atlantic_Monthly'', ''The_Georgia_Review'', ''The_Southern_Review'', ''The_Greensboro_Review'', and ''Shenandoah''. His short story "Mojo Farmer" was selected for inclusion in the 1997 edition of ''New Stories From the South'', while his story "Report from Junction" was included in the anthology's 2003 edition. His story "Chickensnake" was selected for the 2003 edition of ''Best_New_American_Voices''. Vice has also published articles and interviews in publications such as ''Writers' Digest, The Novel and Short Story Writers' Market'', and ''The Guide to Literary Agents''. His fiction reviews have been published in a number of magazines and newspapers. In late 2004 Vice's short story collection, ''The Bear Bryant Funeral Train'', won the Flannery O'Connor Short Fiction Award from the University_of_Georgia Press. The Press published the collection in late 2005. The collection received positive reviews from ''Booklist'' and other magazines and from newspapers such as ''San_Francisco_Chronicle''. == Controversy over alleged plagiarism == Shortly after Vice's short story collection ''The Bear Bryant Funeral Train'' was published, a readers' adviser to the Tuscaloosa Public Library in Alabama noticed that one of the stories bore a similiarity to a section of the classic 1934 nonfiction book, ''Stars Fell on Alabama'' by Carl Carmer.{{ref|TuscNews}} Vice's 20 page short story, "Tuscaloosa Knights," used the background, setting and some Dialogue from Carmer's book, specifically a four page section of the chapter "Tuscaloosa Nights," which describes a 1930s Ku_Klux_Klan rally in that city. The library adviser notified the University of Georgia Press, which had published Vice's book. Vice said that he was not copying Carmer's original section but wrote the story in Homage to Carmer's book. He said he used sections of Carmer's description and dialogue to add "authority to my story with the visual details of Carmer's historical reckoning. I made a terrible error in judgment by omitting to acknowledge this due to my ignorance concerning the principles of Fair_use."{{ref|MediaB}} Even though ''The Bear Bryant Funeral Train'' failed to cite Carmer's book, Vice's doctorial dissertation (which was an earlier draft of the book) did contain an epigraph from Carmer's book at the start of the story in question.{{ref|Dissertation}} Despite this apology and explanation, the University of Georgia Press revoked Vice's prize and destroyed all copies of the book. While many literary commentators and editors agreed that Vice had made a mistake in failing to cite the original source of the story, there was also a feeling that the University of Georgia Press overreacted to the situation. Jake Adam York, a Southern_United_States poet and editor of the Alabama literary journal ''Thicket'', noted that Vice had allowed his short story and the four page section of Carmer's original book to be published side by side in ''Thicket''. To York, this action by Vice "implicitly acknowledges the relationship (and) allows the evidence to be made public." York added that doing this allowed the readers to enter the "intertextual space in which (Vice) has worked" and that what Vice was doing with his story was Allusion, not Plagiarism. York also stated that, according to his own analysis of Vice's story and Carmer's source material, Vice did not break copyright law.{{ref|controversy1}} Other commentators and editors who supported Vice stated that Vice was following in a long line of authors adapting older literary works for modern times.{{ref|controversy2}} Examples of this include Alice_Randall's ''The_Wind_Done_Gone'' (based on ''Gone_with_the_Wind''), Suzan-Lori_Parks' ''Getting Mother's Body'' and Graham_Swift's ''Last Orders'' (both updated versions of William_Faulkner’s ''As_I_Lay_Dying''), and Tom_Stoppard's ''Rosencrantz_&_Guildenstern_Are_Dead'' (which plays off of Hamlet). {{ref|controversy3}} Others stated that Vice' publisher acted in "haste" and questioned why the book had to be destroyed for what was probably not a copyright violation or a case of plagiarism.{{ref|controversy4}} Still, there were a few commentators who felt that Vice was indeed guilty of plagiarism and received the punishment he deserved. These commentators tended to state that since Vice was a professor of English, he should have known what he was doing.{{ref|deserve}} Writer Robert_Clark_Young later published a journalistic article claiming to expose an additional case of plagiarism, which Young said he discovered by reading Vice's dissertation draft of ''The Bear Bryant Funeral Train''.{{ref|Young}} However, others quickly stated that Young's article and his evidence for his claims had serious flaws, including the failure by Young to quote accurately from Vice's dissertation (such that this made the case for plagiarism appear stronger than it was), the failure to mention supporting evidence from the dissertation, and the failure to disclose a conflict of interest in writing the article. As a result of this, Jason Sanford, editor of StorySouth, called the article "poor journalism"{{ref|Poor}} and others questioned the article's findings.{{ref|findings}} The_Atlantic_Monthly's C. Michael Curtis, who edited and published the story by Vice which Young claimed proved an additional case of plagiarism, also refuted Young's claim.{{ref|findings2}} Other commentators mentioned that Young had an altercation with Vice and others at the Sewanee_Writers'_Conference and suggested his article was possibly an attempt at revenge.{{ref|Revenge}} After Vice's book was destroyed, remaining used copies on Amazon.com and other booksellers were selling for hundreds of dollars.{{ref|controversy5}} ==Notes==
#{{note|MSwriterpg}}The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School page on Brad Vice. #{{note|TuscNews}}Book’s passages raise questions of plagiarism, UA Press doubts originality of work by UGa Press by Mark Hughes Cobb. Tuscaloosa News, October 21. 2005. Accessed November 5, 2005. #{{note|MediaB}}U. of GA Press Recalls Stories, Revokes Prize. Mediabistro.com. Accessed November 5, 2005. #{{note|Dissertation}} Vice's doctorial dissertation at the University of Cincinnati. Accessed Dec. 3, 2005. #{{note|controversy1}}Fell In Alabama: Brad Vice's Tuscaloosa Night by Jake Adam York. storySouth. Accessed November 6, 2005. #{{note|controversy2}}The literary lynching of Brad Vice by Jason Sanford. storySouth. Accessed November 5, 2005. #{{note|controversy3}} Ibid. #{{note|controversy4}} Second chance for the bear bryant funeral train? and Hoping for the Best for Brad Vice. Accessed November 6, 2005. #{{note|deserve}} "When Profs Go Wild" from HyperLiterature and "Another breathtaking example of plagiarism" by Brenda Coulter in No rules. Just write #{{note|Young}} "A Charming Plagiarist: The downfall of Brad Vice" by Robert Clark Young ''New York Press'', Vol 18, Issue 48, November 30-Dec 6, 2005. Accessed Dec. 3, 2005. #{{note|Poor}} New attack on Brad Vice is merely poor journalism by Jason Sanford #{{note|findings}} Sifting Through Information by Dan Wickett. Emerging Writers Network. Accessed Dec. 5, 2005. #{{note|findings2}} Sifting Through Information by Dan Wickett. Emerging Writers Network. Accessed Dec. 5, 2005. #{{note|Revenge}} Comment by P.M. Cormano on the blog From Here To Obscurity (Accessed Dec. 3, 2005) and comment by Leah Stewart on Emerging Writers Network blog (Accessed Dec. 6, 2005). #{{note|controversy5}} Second chance for the bear bryant funeral train? by Michelle Richmond. Accessed November 6, 2005.
== External Links == * Vice's story story "Tuscaloosa Knights" * Flaming Cross by Carl Carmer, on which Vice based his story. This is a four page section from the chapter "Tuscaloosa Nights" in ''Stars Fell on Alabama''. * The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School page on Brad Vice * Fell In Alabama: Brad Vice's Tuscaloosa Night Vice, Brad Vice, Brad Vice, Brad