FYI, this is what they sent me:
Dear Mr. Pasek,
In general, a work that was first published prior to January 1, 1923 would no longer be under copyright protection in the United States, insofar as any version published before this date is concerned. For additional information, see Circular 15a which is available on the Copyright Office website at
www.copyright.gov.
Once a copyright expires, anyone (including the author) may use the work but no one can claim any exclusive rights in that work.
It is possible to obtain a new copyright if the work is revised with substantial copyrightable new matter. In that case the new copyright refers only to the new matter without extending or restoring the copyright in the original work.
For further information concerning Copyright in Derivative Works and Compilations, see Circular 14 which is available on the Copyright Office website at
www.copyright.gov.
If you are interested in having a search conducted for a translation of a poem, the following information may be useful.
When requesting a search, please provide the title of the work, the name(s) of the author(s) and/or copyright claimant(s) and the year date of registration or publication.
According to your email request, the poem I HAVE A WHITE ROSE TO TEND by Jose Marti was translated into English by Lewis Weis & Co. Is Lewis Weis & Co. the author of the translation, or perhaps the copyright claimant? Was the translation a work-made-for-hire? For further information concerning Works Made for Hire see Circular 9 which is also available on the Copyright Office website.
Poems are often first published as contributions to periodicals or form a part of anthologies or other composite works. The Indexes of the Copyright Office do not contain analytics for the individual contents of such works, although copyright in the composite works or periodicals may give the proprietor all the rights which he would have if each part were individually registered for copyright. Before a broader search could be undertaken, you must furnish information concerning the specific title, approximate date of publication and possible claimant of the larger works.
Searches of the records of the Copyright Office are provided at the statutory fee of $200.00 per hour with a minimum of two hours. If you desire a written estimate for a search, a flat estimate fee of $200.00 is required and will be applied to the balance, if you desire a search. If you prefer, an initial payment of $400.00 can be made and one to two hours of search service provided. Fees for any additional monies necessary for the completion of the search and report would be communicated with the patron, and if the additional records search time is desired, payment rendered at that time.
Fees received for an estimate service are NON-REFUNDABLE. Fees paid for a search service, if the service has not begun, will be charged at least one hour of search service time when a refund is requested to cover administrative and processing costs. If you have further questions concerning the Copyright Office’s refund policy, please contact:
Chief
Receipt Analysis & Control Division
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20559
Upon receipt of the estimate fee of $200.00, a written estimate will be provided within 10 business days.
Please be advised that at this time receipt of first class and all overnight delivery service to our Office can take up to three weeks. Due to the current mail situation we encourage payment of searches by credit card. Credit card transactions may be made by telephone between the hours of 8:30a.m. and 5:00p.m. EST Monday through Friday at (202) 707-6850.
The Records Research & Certification Section of the Copyright Office is experiencing backlogs of work due to severe staff shortages related to efforts of the Office to comply with the federal government’s efforts to reduce spending. This situation has impacted our workload and turnaround times.
At present, all requests for expedited service for search service must be reviewed by the Section Head or Supervisor for approval. Our current turn around for search services is approximately seventeen (17) weeks or more, depending on the number of works requested and our current staffing level.
You may wish to use the Office’s on-line records data base found on
www.copyright.gov. Click on the heading for “Search Copyright Records” and follow the instructions for searching all Copyright Office Records from 1978 to the present. Imaged pages of Copyright Office Records from 1891 to 1977, contained in the printed volumes of the Catalog Card Entries can be viewed at
www.archive.org/details/copyrightrecords/. A direct link to this web site can be found after entering the “Search Copyright Records” heading.
We regret any inconvenience that this may cause.
PAR
Copyright Office
Records Research & Certification Section
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., S. E.
Washington, DC 20559-6000
Phone: (202) 707-6850
Fax: (202) 252-3485
Website:
www.copyright.gov 
- a Cuban poem published in 1891, I wouldn't worry about it since the odds that it's in the public domain are high enough to make me comfortable to use it, but that's just me.
