February 4th, 2008

Name It

If you look right, you’ll note that my long-nameless forthcoming short story collection can now be known under the more efficient rubric, Once. I like this title because it captures a lot of ideas I care about: stories of as glimpses and as frames of film, ideas of time and timelessness and the impossibility of eternality, of telling something to someone, of memory and excitement. I really hope that at least some of all that can be picked up by a reader who happens to glance at that title. At least it’s short and easy to remember.

Those who have been watching this channel for a while might be moved to comment that Once was the title of this collection once before, and then for a long while I said it wasn’t. Never let it be said that I cannot admit when I am wrong, though in this case the thing I was wrong about was not realizing I was right the first time. I’m pretty sure I was.

The book is better-written than this post.

If you never ever say your name to anyone / they can never ever call you by it
RR