Tuesday, July 21, 2009

What's in a Name? - Note on the title of this blog

As a developing writer and poet, I was obsessed with metaphors. And etymologies. But most especially homophones.

Trying to name a blog is like trying to name a new puppy. What can I imagine saying out loud that won't make me gag in 2 years time. Or alternatively, what doesn't sound like a generic dog-name, or in this case, blog-name, but still works as a functional title.

I ran the gamut of boring titles and overly-syrupy metaphors. Why? Because I have a thing for threes. I built a collaborative arts project around the number three, and I realized my blog needs to cover three near-and-dear topics:

1) Composition
2) Marketing
3) Food

Now, pick any two (like a lunch-counter combo) and you're fine for titles. But "adding on" makes the title buffet get awfully picked-over, awfully fast. Food metaphors aside, I've spent a lot of time working over the title in my mind, like dough, and I finally turned to an old standby--the Wikipedia disambiguation pages--and stumbled upon what is the linguistic equivalent to a slap in the face: PROOF.

I teach students to do this, I've made a living fixing colleagues' errors on junk mail, and I've had a hankering to learn how to make a really good artisan loaf. Let's face it, my past, present, and future are all based on this little word. PROOF, to save you the lengthy definition, serves my blog in, let's see, three ways.

3) It's the process of leavening, it's the "rising" that makes bread a food of texture, not just taste.
2) It's the process of copyediting and of revision, it's half of the time you spend creating a written piece.
1) It's the process of establishing of the truth of anything, it's the demonstration that leads others to knowledge.

It's the PROOF, the action, that gives meaning and fullness to the SHAPE, the original form and the idea(l).

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