Book on the Brain

I have been shopping around this monster of a chapbook for a while now--a year to be exact--and nobody wants it. Nobody. Yesterday, or maybe Sunday, I was struck with the realization of why nobody wants the book. The poems are strong, they are thematically linked but not everly so, and I have a cool title. The problem is that I think I chose the title too soon and have been adding poems to "fill it in" and force the book to take a certain shape. I wonder why it has taken a year for me to figure out that I should do an overhaul on the book, esp. considering how my writing has changed directions so much over the last year.

I have copies of all of my poems with me--as soon as I get back from my second class I am locking myslf in the office and spreading all that crap out on the floor. (About the fiftieth time I have done this.) I will not be opening the door until I have an order for the poems and a title for the book.

I have pretty much decided on a title for the book, but I don't want to list it here, as I have already learned the hard way that I can't copyright a title.

You know, I don't even care so much about spending a year working in the wrong direction now that I have a clear idea of how to reverse the trend and back out of this cave.