4.21.2009

Not "Waiting" But "Drowning"

On 9/17/07, the Virginia Quarterly Review blog ran a list of the most frequently-occurring titles of submissions they'd received in the past year (I blogged the list here). Yesterday, they released an update.

Here are the 10 most common titles of submissions they’ve received in the past two years:

Untitled
Aubade
Gravity
Prayer
Homecoming
Night
Drowning
Home
Sonnet
Sleep

As VQR blogger Waldo Jaquith notes, there is no overlap from 2006-2007's 10 most common titles (though I have to admit, when I first read the new list, it sounded awfully similar. Heck, it still does!):

Remember
Smoke
Revelation
Work
Grace
Waiting
Insomnia
Voyeur
Butterfly
Reunion

From "Insomnia" to "Sleep" (How many submissions were titled "Ambien"?) ! From "Work" to "Home" (reflection of unemployment rate?)! From "Butterfly" to "Untitled" (hard to say which is worse)! From "Voyeur" to "Aubade" (did someone open the window and let him/her in?)!

I love VQR for posting stuff like this.

2 comments:

Carolyn Cordon said...

I saw that list, and made a comment on it, that's how I found you. I couldn't believe the banality of the list - how could you hope to entice a publisher if you can't even show enough creativity to come up with a kick ass title? Untitled, oh please!

Rachel Dacus said...

Love this list. I have such a bee in my bonnet about poems called "Untitled" that my witty friend David Alpaugh wrote one by that name and dedicated it to me. You can read it at Poetry Magazine: http://poemag.gilfordgraphics.com/archives/2004/Spring004/PastFeatures/alpaughd.htm

I can only hope he tackles the rest of this list.