Friday, February 16, 2007

Titles


The book is plodding along. I am changing poems and am quite often left thinking this poem is no better or worse for the changes I have made- does this mean I should still change them? Alot of tinkering and time to have something a line shorter, not because the line was necessarily rubbish, just because it isn't essential. I do have to still change them, I know, but it's less fun when the poem is no better for it. I'm providing breaks from editing and sorting by writing in a notebook and writing odd little poems that have no purpose. They are a welcome break though sometimes.

Mostly I'm title obsessed. The last title was just right. This book hasn't found one for itself.
I've tried brainstorming words, looking through poems for lines, going on the net and looking up keywords for things in the collection- it's endless.

Anyway current titles under consideration are:

Strip

(I like the one wordness of this, any connotations are by the reader rather than me. I like that it refers to an act in the book, but also the stripping away of glamour to find real lives, and film strip notion that suits the work.)

Fistful of Blondes

(
I like the slight violence of this and the movie connotation. Unfortunately I've heard two negative comments on this one- one being that it reminds you of Margi Clarke and her movie Blonde Fist, another that it reminds someone of bad puns like a rolling stones tribute band and Mick dagger's girlfriend Marianna Fistful. I was just thinking movie reference and stuff.)

Showing Pink

(
I liked this in that it refers to the act but also how the poems are really looking at images of women, but I am scared of this title. I am scared it will put more people off reading the book than make them interested, and will alienate male readers and less brave women ones too. I know with any title there is this consideration, and that realistically not many people read poetry anyway, but I would like this work to be given a chance before it is dismissed somehow.)

Heartbreakers

There is a poem that refers to a heartbreaker tattoo, called Heartbreak Motel. But that's about all I can say about this one.

Then there were just a bunch of titles that can from the same sort of place, which I'm also considering.

The Gentleman's Club

(
sounds nice, but i dislike how the focus is on men here when women are the focus of the book.)

The Pussycat Lounge (or Dancing at the Pussycat Lounge)

Eye Candy

The Porcelain Dollhouse

(What I liked about this is that in addition to being the name of a strip club it had the conotation of showing and also childhood, the construction of femininity somehow- which the poems are concerned with.)

I looked up the names of strip clubs- I want to go to one actually as research (but I don't know anybody who will come with me) enjoyed the array of names. Cherries, Sugar doll's, Heartbreakers, Baby Dolls, Centrefold Palace, Centrefold Lounge, Little Darlings, Eye Candy, Pussycat Lounge, Pink lady, Peelers, America's Dollhouse, to name but a few- any of these could of been a title, but which? And what do I have to add to it?

I've looked about for slang as to what beautiful girls are referred to, but haven't hit gold. (No way am I calling this thing Beavers for fucksake.)

Then I'm thinking of Marilyn and would quite like include her somehow, but can't find a way.

Proper writers never tell you about having problems with titles! I haven't heard from my publisher in a fair few months, and part of me wants to give up, and let them give it a title- but wouldn't that be like having a baby and opening the yellow pages and using a pin to give it a name? Just can't do it.

People keep saying it will come when I'm not thinking about it, but I can't stop thinking about it.
Aaaaaaaaaaargh! Women. What do people say about them, what do people call them, beauty and blondes- how can I capture all that?

Going nuts with the thinking about it, so here is a picture of me as a squash, if you pick me up my eyes jiggle back and forth.




About Me

Poetry is like having an imaginary friend, who still forgets your birthday.