Dear Mike, In the country I am in, this would fall under the right to quote (for press/academics). In America, I would think it depends on how you view this data. If you see the poems as a work of art, fair use would come in, but if you see it as a personal conversation on a semi-public board people need to log in to, you definitely need permission. If a fan openly refuses that you publish snippets of her work, I would comply, just because it shows you are a good sports ethic wise. It helps to check rules of internet research on this too, though stances in this vary. To be sure, maybe also check for instance the rules about copyright that the Organization of Transformative Works frames. Fair chance you already know them, most of them are also fan scholars. You can also inquire them what they would do, they are very open to that. Also, I am very interested in your book since I am also working on fan studies in Europe, if you'd like to exchange experiences once, I'm very open to that, Kind regards, Nicolle Lamerichs ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu