Plagiarist Jonah Lehrer finds words (his own) to tell story
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Writer Jonah Lehrer first learned he had been rumbled, as a plagiarist and fabricator, from a voicemail.
It was a “muggy Sunday morning in St Louis,” the precocious 31-year-old recalled later. “I have been found out. I puke into a recycling bin. And then I start to cry... I would lose my job and my reputation. My private shame would become public.”
Lehrer resigned from the staff of The New Yorker last year. Copies of his bestselling book Imagine: How Creativity Works, were pulped by his publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Now he is making a comeback: the opening recollection comes from the 65-page proposal for his new book, tentatively entitled The Book of Love. The 80,000-word tome will take Lehrer’s disgrace, and the support of his wife, as an example of the power of love. “Jonah Lehrer is an unusually talented writer,” Jonathan Karp of publisher Simon & Schuster told the New York Times. “We believe in second chances.”
In July 2012, shortly after the publication of Imagine, journalist Michael Moynihan accused Lehrer of fabricating quotes from Bob Dylan. Lehrer at first denied the charges, before finally issuing a blanket apology for several instances of invention and plagiarism.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments