Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Which do you prefer

Ok. Most of you know that Take Home Project is publishing my chapbook of loosely procedural Chinese translations. I think I've already decided on the title, but we'll do a little poll. Rod, if you're reading this, you have to give your opinion, because you are good at this kind of thing.

  • lunar fantasies (very MFA like. But then, the piece does have the moon in it. A lot.)
  • large waves to large obstacles
  • Peculiar eccentric music
  • retold and told
  • So to tomorrow we go? (I like this the best, but it also sounds like a classic Lorraine title. Whatever a classic Lorraine title is)
  • Jade and Jade Pieces (there is also a lot of Jade in the poem)

17 comments:

mark wallace said...

It's hard to comment on the titles w/o knowing the manuscript much. I read some portion of it maybe five or so years ago, right? So I can comment only on my sense of the titles in general.

"large waves to large obstacles" is my favorite, but I have no idea if it fits the text. "Jade and Jade Pieces" seems awfully Orientalist-obvious but on the other hand it may fit perfectly; "retold and told" might be okay but seems mainly like a weaker version of "Jade." I don't like "Peculier Eccentric Music" much generally speaking; "lunar fantasies" is better, no mattter how George Mason U it seems. "So to tomorrow we go?" does sound like classic Lorraine, but why not? Your other titles along this line have been winners.

So my order:
1)"large waves"
2) "so to tomorrow"
3) "lunar fantasies"
4) "Jade and Jade Pieces"

Jessica Smith said...

large waves was my first instinct too. i think that's a fab title.

yay, you're finally choosing a title! i guess this means i should get to work on the paper :)

Jessica Smith said...

jade and jade pieces is my 2nd choice

i like "so to tomorrow we go?" but i'm concerned about how easy it is to remember. "terminal humming," for instance, is very hard-hitting, easy to remember. when people are talking about your book i want them to call it by the correct title (and come buy it).

mark, don't you live with lorraine?

K. Lorraine Graham said...

I am also leaning towards "Large Waves to Large Obstacles."

I like "So to tomorrow we go?" but it's just a little to sweet and hopeful for a title. And it's the last line in the piece, now that I think of it. So it's out.

Mark's playing my game, and he plays it well! I'm super secretive with my work, in general.

But the rest of you peoples, what thinkest y'alls?

K. Lorraine Graham said...

And yes. Any title with the moon reminds me of GMU. Much as I'm a fan of GMU and the many excellent poets that have come from there. I only have one title of one poem with the moon in it, and that's just fine.

Joseph said...

I like large waves to large obstacles best.

mike c said...

What about, Chop Sticks Cost Extra?

mark wallace said...

Jessica! Do I detect in your comment just the vaguest bit of Aggrieved Moral Chiding (AMC) based on Generalized Ideals (GI)?!

In any case, I'm sure that's not what you intended.

Still, because it's bureaucracy and acronym week at my job and it's driving me crazy, I do have to point out that AMC has been categorized by the American Foundation for Relationship Advice (AFRA) as a Common Household Emotional Weapon (CHEW). AFRA recommends that, like garden sheers or draino, CHEWs should be used sparingly and only with the proper instructions, and should be kept out of reach of all GIs. Lorraine and I are good at keeping our use of CHEWs to a minimum, and that's probably one of the reasons we get along so well.

The world needs more AMC-free zones, and working together we can achieve it.

Still, in answer to your question, quite seriously, and without either acronyms or any other related goofiness, experience has suggested to me that while the roles sometimes intermingle, it can be risky to completely blur the distinctions between a person you love and an editor. Not that we all haven't done that sometimes!

Lisa said...

lisa here. don't be so quick to jettison "so to tomorrow"--haven't read the manuscript either, but the title's a really good one and not necessarily sweet, more implicitly acknowledging of the difficulties of "saying what one means" in a language not one's "own." "large waves to large obstacles" sounds very Contemporary Poetry Book, so that's a good one. "jade and jade pieces" is a solid poetry title, but not as interesting as the two above. "peculiar eccentric music" sounds too studiedly "alternative." and personally i hate "lunar fantasies" because it sounds too 19th century. not very now, i mean. whatever i mean. understand what i mean? i mean...

K. Lorraine Graham said...

I totally horde my work. I guess we (mark and I) do edit lines sometimes, but never whole manuscripts. It's more like, "which sounds better--this or this."

Hey Lisa!

Thanks everyone for your most excellent input. Rod. I'm still waiting for yours.

Jessica Smith said...

mark, it probably is better to separate love & editing, though i've not been able to do so. the confusion of these roles causes lots of problems in my relationship, but martin's also my best editor.

it was more affectionate chiding for your commenting on lorraine's blog when you can just as easily converse with her in real life, where you can likely also get a printout of the poems (if lorraine will give them to you).

K. Lorraine Graham said...

I might accidentally leave print outs lying around. Maybe.

mark wallace said...

You know, it's funny, but Lorraine and I are often moving around so fast that finding a moment when we both have the energy simultaneously for literary conversation is very difficult. But if I comment on her blog when I have the energy, she can read my comment when she has the energy. Maybe we need a household blog where we can just leave each other messages on and off all day. I mean, if blogs help people keep in touch who live far away from each other, they can probably help people keep in touch even when they see each other all the time.

Oh, and Lorraine doesn't leave manuscripts lying around, at least anywhere that I can find. She guards them with a watchful, vigorous eye.

K. Lorraine Graham said...

Let's start a grocery list blog!

DUSIE said...

'so to tomorrow we go' does sound a bit like a musical ...but, I really would have to read the chap to give any decent thoughts here...

what about 'In a Supralunar World' I always really liked that title !

and perhaps because of the GMU thing? HAHAHA...no really, i love that title and sequence, A LOT! but, well, as you might know, the ML Fan Club started there! But to be honest, I can only think of 2 MFA MS with 'moon' in the title--- though mine wasn't one of em...and moon wasn't even in the title i 'wanted' to have but didn't because of pressure...so lame that i gave in!

so check out the http://www.dusie.blogspot.com

where there is a lovely review of your *dusi/e-chap!

K. Lorraine Graham said...

Susana-

Thanks for the heads up about that review. I keep writing things that are different from whatever I concieve of my work as being. Like the "In a Supralunar World Sequence," which I'm still writing...

So I guess I have several poems that refer to the moon. Bring on the moon!

Jessica Smith said...

i may have changed my mind to "jade and jade pieces."

it's so easy to remember.