Odd thought. . . Starting a novel with a pop culture quote

[MstrTal]

So I was off cooking supper, taco's not that this matters, and I had this odd thought. Has anyone ever started a novel with a famous pop culture quote? Is this even possible or would there be to many hoops to jump through?

I know in academic writing all one needs to do when quoting another is to credit the source in ones footnote, endnote or bibliography so as to not plagiarize. How does this work in popular fiction? I know I have seen in text quotes before but that was throughout the course of the novel. Never right out of the starting gate. Would it even be worth the hassle?

Like I said just one of those random thoughts that pop in your head.

 

[Culhwch]

Mmm, tacos.

Happens all the time. Stephen King does it a lot. I don't know about the legal ramifications, but I feel there would have to be some kind of attribution and copyright acknowledgement.

 

[MstrTal]

Thanks, its been a while since I have read any King. In fact I think the last of King's books I read was his re-release of "Gerald's Game" under his own name.

For some reason I just thought it would be interesting to start or read a book that began with lines like. . .

"Luke, I am your Father."

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin badges!"

or

"Good? Bad? I'm the one with the gun."

 

[Culhwch]

From memory King's are mostly from songs ('Don't fear the reaper', for instance, opens The Stand) but I guess the principle would be the same.

 

[The Judge]

In fact it's harder to quote songs than other sources because of copyright issues.

The basic rule** is that one may quote extensively only with the consent of the copyright holder, and failing to get that consent can lead to expensive legal action, but an exception is made for snippets, so a line from a poem or a film should be OK. In those cases, it's polite to give the source and author of the quote (in the Acknowledgements section, I'd have thought, unless the characters talk about its provenance), but as far as I'm aware it's not compulsory. I'm pretty sure, though, that the music industry has greater protection and even one line would be asking for lawyers breathing down one's neck. (I did research this at one point and there may well be a fuller answer from me somewhere in the forums.)

Whether the quote appears at the beginning or the end or half-way through, the legal position would be the same. As a matter of writing, whether you would want to start a novel with a quote from someone else is perhaps a different matter. It would bring baggage with it, and immediately date the story, both of which have benefits and drawbacks.


**England and Wales law, but I think it's much the same for the rest of the UK, the US and Europe.

 

[Jake Reynolds]

Also, though the idea may seem attractive, there is also a balancing of whether such hoops are worth what the quote brings to your work. In my opinion, it never brings much, other than to set a tone that your first page should do in any case.