# What would you name this chapbook?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 27, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917 "2001-10-27T03:20:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917/1 "2001-10-27T03:20:02Z")

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I’m putting together a chapbook of my poetry for some friends. All of the poems relate to being a rape survivor, so they are fairly intense. I have it ready to go, except for a title.

My choices are:  
\*\*What It’s Like \*\* The first poem in the series. It’s a killer poem, and a pretty understated title. Which might be a good thing, I’m not sure.

**Ask a Woman** Another title from the book. Not as understated, but I don’t know–it sounds too much like “Ain’t I a Woman” or something…

**Profane Cipher** Okay, a very cool title. It’s a phrase from one of the poems, and I like it a lot. But I don’t know–it might be too out there. Plus, it’s not as all-encompassing as the first two titles.

I considered an epigraph/subtitle, but nothing brilliant comes to mind, so a short title would be better, I think.

Input? Ideas?  
Thanks, Dopers! 🙂

karol

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**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917/2 "2001-10-27T03:25:04Z")

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When choosing a title, I tend to prefer the unusually memorable. “Profane Cipher” fits the bill of the three.

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**Author:** ![whatmove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecc23a/32.png) [@whatmove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatmove)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917/3 "2001-10-27T03:56:25Z")

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\*\*Back Down That Road

Over You Over Me

See Me Now

Ask a Woman What It’s Like

Useless Wanderings

Tales from a Time Ago

Lower the Fence\*\*

…Don’t really know where they came from, but maybe they’ll spark something

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**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-name-this-chapbook/89917/4 "2001-10-27T04:25:23Z")

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I would go with **What It’s Like**. Considering the subject matter of the poems, this title is understated, yet powerful and intriguing.

And congrats on the chapbook!

Sheri