Rights & Permissions

Thank you for your interest in using work published by Copper Canyon Press. Over the years, our poems have been published in thousands of venues, including:

anthologies and student packets
newspapers, magazines, and journals
plays, screenplays, and musical compositions
bus and subway placards
television, radio, and the internet
granite slabs in parks and Mexican restaurant menus

All uses require appropriate acknowledgement; some uses require payment. If you have any questions as to whether your proposed use of Copper Canyon Press poetry is subject to existing copyright restrictions and/or payment, we welcome you to contact us with details about your project, and we’ll help you figure it out!

Please note that, whether a use is personal or professional, we cannot allow for usages in which changes have been introduced to the text, title, or structure of a poem.

Personal Uses

We encourage certain personal uses, such as sharing a poem on social media. These uses do not require specific permission or payment. We do ask that the use be appropriately acknowledged by including the poem title, the author’s name, and a link to the book, preferably to the listing here on our website.

Events

Poetry is often read and recited during life’s most meaningful events. If you feel moved to incorporate a Copper Canyon Press poem at an important event, we applaud your excellent taste.

To verbally share a Copper Canyon Press poem during an event (e.g. a wedding ceremony, worship service, etc.), you need not seek formal permission, though we do request that you credit the author in your presentation. (For example, saying something like: “This is a poem by Ellen Bass titled ‘If You Knew.’”) If the event is recorded and subsequently posted online for free viewing, you need not seek permission to post.

You are also welcome to print the poem or excerpts in a worship bulletin, and we ask that you include the author’s name and, if possible, the title of the book.

Credit Line Guide

Our official credit line is as follows:

“Title of Poem” from Title of Book, copyright Date by Author’s Name, used by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org.

Example:

Professional Uses

To protect copyright and to ensure that our poets are paid for republication and dissemination of their work, we require a Permissions Contract to stipulate and validate the terms and conditions of use. Charges vary depending upon use. Uses that require payment usually involve commerce, such as:

books and ebooks
anthologies
student packets
websites
broadcasts

If you have a professional use request, please submit the permission request form below.