Title search nears its conclusion
December 10, 2008
Just talked with a young woman in Starbuck’s about the new titles for the book. She’s a complete stranger, though her name is Catherine. I lined up the short listed group of titles for her and she picked her top three. Moments earlier, she had asked me to watch her books while she went to the washroom – called me “sir,” which is fine. I’m twice her age, and more. Her picks surprised me. Her second pick matched up with Denise’s top pick (from my work here at the government) from earlier in the day. Catherine’s top pick matched mine. By the end of the week, I’ll make an announcement here on the site, because I know at least two of three of you are interested. Then I’ll go through this entire site and remove any reference to “Columbus at 4 AM,” unless we manage to circle around and come back to the working title. Regardless, it will be nice to be able to talk about the book again. Yes, it’ called “XXXX” and it’s about “xxxx.” The US publisher is Knopf Doubleday. The Canadian publisher is McClelland and Stewart. The UK publisher is Picador.
Tonight, it’s a Raving Poets Founding Fathers’ dinner at a top secret location somewhere in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We’ll be eating and drinking, not playing our instruments…Nice opportunity to catch up. Those Raving Poets nights are hectic and crowded and busy…the only way we really communicate is through our instruments, through our music, which nuzzles up to the poems being read, not a bad way to communicate...actually, it's brilliant.
7 Comments
1. Winifred Brewer had this to say: Dec 10, 2008 ~ 16:08 ~ #
I LOVE the title “Columbus @ 4 a.m.” (Of course it’s
hard to pick a title without knowing the story)! There’s
something about the word “navagator” that sounds “dry” to me. But, I will buy a copy whatever the title if I see “Trofimuk” on the cover. Wini
2. deb had this to say: Dec 10, 2008 ~ 20:08 ~ #
I had to look up bourgeois. You never did tell us how the young woman defined bourgeois to your daughter.
Last time we talked you were working on dream therapy. I read a blog which is written by a Jungian psychologist, who also happens to have a shit load of children, shit load, meaning more than twelve. She’s very interesting. Thought I’d leave her blog address here.
http://eve3.wordpress.com/
Say hi to Cindy-Lou for me. Take care.
3. Catherine Davis had this to say: Dec 11, 2008 ~ 10:37 ~ #
I decided to google you, Thomas, after our encounter yesterday, to see what other books you have written. I laughed out loud when I saw you had mentioned me in your blog thing! Maybe you should write a book about students who study in Starbucks! Thanks again for watching my stuff. You seemed trustworthy, haha. No one knew it, but I had a laptop in my backpack- hence the paranoia. Did you know that you can get free wireless at starbucks if you register a starbucks card? There you go! You learn something new every day. Nice meeting you, and take care!
Catherine Davis- The Starbucks Girl
4. thomas had this to say: Dec 11, 2008 ~ 13:10 ~ #
Oh my God!!!
I am so busted! Nice to meet you again, Catherine.
5. thomas had this to say: Dec 11, 2008 ~ 13:15 ~ #
Deb,
I’m still trying to remember my dreams…I sometimes wake up and go, whoa, that was interesting…and then I proceed to NOT write anything down. Gotta write these glimpses of my subconscious down….
Thanks for the link…I’ll go there.
Thomas
Wini,
Bless you! Thank you!
Thomas
6. Mike Gravel had this to say: Dec 11, 2008 ~ 14:21 ~ #
I am pleased to report that Trofimuk was mostly well behaved at the Founder’s dinner. Only a few off-colour comments were made, and only once did he proclaim himself “the king of the world” (with hands skyward, of course).
Between nips of imported lager, he was elegant and cogent and a fine table-mate.
7. mary had this to say: Dec 11, 2008 ~ 19:24 ~ #
I’ve never met a K©atherine that I didn’t like…
here’s one for your shelf:
dream 1
a wicker birdcage empty but full of sunlight in a corner on a sunday afternoon.
a sheet of newsprint tells you the year is right for opening your ribs to your heart, again.
dream 2
an ocean captured in bedside table. a cup of tea paces patiently beside the waves. sand settles into the spine of a book. and a lamp glows.
dream 3
a neon light blinks on and off,
on and off,
beside a chinese food restaurant advertising
half price eg roll and wo t n so p.
no one seems to care about the missing letters.
dream 4
the first snow fall collides with the memory of a footprint you imagined traced a path from door to street and back again to say “i am back” only to go again and the snow wipes everything a clean white that makes you think it would be good to take a deep breath, but the fog of your breath on the window stops you.
dream 5
the cat
keeps
staring
at you
dream 6
the one you want to keep frozen in the space of your mind you can only find in the moments between sleep and fulling waking up.
these are charmed spaces you explore.