What's in a Name?

My blog has gone through many evolutions in naming over the past couple of weeks. I have settled on a name that has meaning to me as a writer. I write about things that interest me; about things I find beautiful, sad, or humorous. The word cellar door is said to be one of the most beautiful words in the English language. Many authors, such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, have made remarks about the beauty of the word. It is said to be even more beautiful when it is unattached from its meaning and spelt differently.

The movie Donnie Darko also comments on its beauty

I find the word cellar door inspiring and beautiful. It rolls off the tongue in a musical manner. It is also aesthetically beautiful, with the double o’s and l’s. The beauty of the word represents the beauty of the world around me. This trip has been beautiful and eye opening. It has been a portal to a new world, both literally, travelling to new continents and countries, and figuratively with the way I have grown and learned on this trip. The word is close to my heart and is a way of verbally expressing how I feel about life.

The URL of my blog, like rain into a paper cup, also has meaning. I took it from The Beatles' song Across the Universe. “Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup. They slither while they pass, they slip away, across the universe. Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind, possessing and caressing me.” I like this metaphor for being taken over by a story, and feeling like the words just flow out of you. I find that this happens a lot to me when I am writing. I am taken over by the story, and write using stream of consciousness. I feel like this really explains the “process” I go through when writing.

While their meaning may not be completely obvious at first, i intentionally chose both phrases for their ability to explain my worldview and process when writing.

Works Cited

Nunberg, Geoff. "The Romantic Side of Familiar Words." Language Log. N.p., 26 Feb. 2010. Web. 15 July 2011. <http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2142>.