Suggested Blog Question: what is your alter ego name is, or favorite Poet Name?

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Okay people, this one is for you-- the question was for me to ask you to post what your alter ego name is, or favorite Poet Name.

**I like this, so I'm going to add to it a bit. Let me know the answer to these questions in the comment section---


So, did you ever go by a fake name in high school, college later?

If you had fake ID, what was your name on it?

Did you ever have a nickname?

What's your favorite alter ego name for yourself?

If changing your name wasn't a huge pain and we could go back in time so everyone knew you as that name, would you change your name? If yes, to what, what would be your name as a poet?

and/or

What's your favorite poet name of a real life poet?

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So no one has to be first (and since I posted these) I'll answer first--


So, did you ever go by a fake name in high school, college, later?


Growing up as a girlchild, we were constantly going by different names and changing our names. It was like trying on a new shoes. I think for girls this starts when you are 8 and pretending your best friend who looks nothing like you is your a) sister b) twin

To make it more believable, we'd become Kristy and Chrissy to anyone who asked (and assure them that yes in fact, we were twins). Yes, it seemed much more beliveable to think my mum would have two daughters with names that sounded so similar--yes, that would be so much fun for her.

Of course, my best friend growing up was Chinese, so I think people were kind of on to our "twin scam" from the very beginning.

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By high school, I'm not sure we ever gave anyone our real names.
At the beach we'd go by Candy, Buffy, and Whitney.

By the end of high school, I went by Madison Frost. (This was after the movie Splash and *way* before there were a 1000 little Madisons in Baby Gap. This was before there was a BabyGap.)

I remember once telling someone my name was Laney McGonnigle, but totally butchering the last name when I said it, so it was obvious I was an undercover agent.

It was then I realized simplier was better.

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If you had fake ID, what was your name on it?

I worked the ASB ID card booth as a junior in high school so I had many. My favorites were:

Illek Llessur (which I told people was my French name-- Read it backwards to see what I was actually doing)

and

Candy Rascal (which was a nickname my best friend gave me for Kelli Russell) When you're 16, you think this name sounds cute, at 39, you think "what was I thinking?"

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Did you ever have a nickname?

Kel, Kels, Guido, Kellian


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What's your favorite alter ego name for yourself?

Hmm, I don't think I have one anymore. For awhile, the not-so-nice Kelli was referred to as Kaylee in my 20's, but now, I'm sort of just me.

Wait, I have filled out forms with the name "Molly Jones" from the Beatles' song (Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da). Obviously, my husband goes by Desmond.

Maybe this would be a good exercise for me. Think of my alter-ego name (or name in Bizarro world).

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If changing your name wasn't a huge pain and we could go back in time so everyone knew you as that name, would you change your name? If yes, to what, what would be your name as a poet?

Kelly - with a Y would have saved me years of not having a pretend license to hang on my bike.


Hmm, you know, I might. But I'd probably keep Kelli or Kelly and just have a new last name. I'm not sure what it would be though. It's sort of the same reason I don't have a tattoo, I change my mind a lot.


and/or

What's your favorite poet name of a real life poet?

Mary Jo Bang

I like it because it sounds like Mary Go Boom or Very Go Bang. And what I thought she looked like versus what she really looks like are two completely different images.

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Okay, so now it's your turn. Let's hear your answers to theses (answer 1 or all!)


So, did you ever go by a fake name in high school, college later?

If you had fake ID, what was your name on it?

Did you ever have a nickname?

What's your favorite alter ego name for yourself?

If changing your name wasn't a huge pain and we could go back in time so everyone knew you as that name, would you change your name? If yes, to what, what would be your name as a poet?

and/or

What's your favorite poet name of a real life poet?

Comments

  1. This answer doesn't quite fit into all of the questions, but it is an answer.

    When I was in the army,I had an alter-ego, or series of them. Among them was "Captain Midnight." I would throw on a welding mask and run around the motor pool on Wednesdays behaving like a super-hero. Seriously. I would take poses, and speak comic book narratives: "Killeen. City at night. This is my kind of scum."

    As a mail clerk, I would also deliver the mail in my underwear.

    For a short time, I insisted that everyone call me "Edna." I had one friend who gave me the name, E-Luv.

    Most of the time I would act this way so people would leave me alone and not ask me to work on crappy details/work shifts. It worked.

    In college, I would sneak into lecture halls and write confrontational sayings and watch the resulting stares and awkward reactions. I would write things like:

    "In communism, man exploits man. In Democracy, it's the exact opposite." I got most my material from The Illuminatus! Trilogy, but I did start the Atomic Youth Against Lobotomy, and wore a jacket that read, "Nuke the Whales! Greenpeace is a fascist plot!" and one which read "Club a Baby Seal for Mother: A baby seal is a waste of a good fur coat." Each was illustrated.

    That drew some stares.

    I would place James Brown "Papa Don't Take No Mess" stickers on the covers of used text books in the book store.

    Not exactly the cute things a young girl would do, but I was not a young girl growing up, and cute wasn't really in my vocabulary.

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  2. When I was eight, my nickname was Snoopy.

    When I first started DJing in college, my air name was Phaedrus (from Plato through Robert Pirsig). I've used that as a pen name when contests ask the poets submitting work to use a pen name.

    But I dropped it and became Andrew after that. And when I started blogging, I thought about using phaedrus.blogspot.com as my address, but it was already taken. So I decided to use my real name instead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never had a fake name, nom de plume or fake ID. I was able to schmooze my way into the gay clubs because I was younger (and cuter..then...sigh). Some of my friends call me CK, while a couple call me Col. When Will & Grace was on the air, I adopted Karen's alter ego name, Anastasia Beaverhausen. I'd never change my name...it has a great ring to it. Favorite poet name - Anne Sexton.

    ReplyDelete

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