Something About Bees?

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Phoebe 30No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoebenorth.com%2F2009%2F02%2F28%2Fsomething-about-bees%2FSomething+About+Bees%3F2009-02-28+17%3A37%3A00Phoebehttp%3A%2F%2Fphoebeeating.dreamhosters.com%2F%3Fp%3D30

I’m trying to title my thesis. Since I struggle over finding the right name for individual poems–since I still haven’t found anything near appropriate for my sci-fi manuscript (referring to it in conversation as “that novelly thing”)–this is not an easy task for me.

I had a place-holder title in my head for the last month or so: Where We Remain, which is in reference to a quote from Rilke’s first “Duino Elegy”–”For there is no place where we can remain.” This feeds into my Death Thing, a theme lightly touched on in my poems. And I staunchly disagree with Rilke–one of the places where we remain, of course, is in our art. I write in part because I have a Death Thing, and because writing gets me one step closer to immortality. My thesis would be, then, like saying, “Here, Rilke; this is where I remain.”

The problem is that that all sounds terribly pretentious. And I don’t really like the title. It’s too What Dreams May Come, too Remains of the Day.

Which is to say, it sounds too much like a thesis title.

So now I’m thinking Transmutations, or some permutation of Transmutations, maybe Transmutations of Ozone and Ash, which has a nice ring to it, but might be too much of a mouthful. There’s much more magic and weirdness in my thesis than there is death stuff, really. It’s all about transformations, most fundamental/elemental, or at least physical. And I like the link to alchemy.

But I’m still not sure. Maybe this is normal. Last night, I hung out with Michele, and she talked about her own shyness over her own thesis title, and the work inside (despite the fact that it’s all good). There’s something about a thesis–and about naming a thesis–that feels like ripping oneself open, exposing oneself. Especially a poetry thesis. And how can you summarize that, title it, without appearing a bit silly?

(Maybe I should just title it Something About Bees?, question mark included.)

Any thoughts on this, Gentle Reader? Any opinions or suggestions?