The book has a new title....
Butterfly in the Typewriter: The Brilliant and Tragic Life of John Kennedy Toole
This title alludes to the last stanza from an unpublished poem by Toole titled "The Arbiter." With permission, I will include this final stanza on one of the first pages of the book:
The book sold well, we understand,
Although the cover itself would command
A buyer’s attention: A large abstract bee
Crushing a butterfly with a typewriter key.
"The Arbiter"
(unpublished)
John Kennedy Toole
The original manuscript of the poem is in the Toole Papers in the .Special Collections at Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University
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Thanks, this title is beautiful. I posted a photo of a living butterfly to wish you continued inspiration! sp, n.o.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lapel grabber of a title! It is poetic AND dramatic.
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