It was the last week of June. The company
was ready to launch. Everything was in place
– the philosophy, the plan, the paperwork.
Just one detail amiss: a name.
I was stumped. I gave myself until the first
week of July to find a suitable moniker. On
the first of July, a white cat appeared in
my backyard. For three days I looked out my
window to find the cat gazing up at me from
the grass. On the fourth day, I found it circling
the pond near the back fence. Deciding that
there had to be some meaning to the cat’s
presence, I looked it in the eye and asked,
“White cat, what do you have to tell
me?” That night, before I fell asleep,
a word burbled up: Blurb.
The next day I looked up the definition
of the word in various sources.
blurb
n. a promotional (usually complimentary) description,
esp. printed on a book’s jacket by its
publisher. v.intr. & tr. print or utter
a blurb. —Canadian Oxford Dictionary
This encyclopedic explanation was the clincher:
A blurb
is a short summary or some words of praise
accompanying a creative work. The word originated
in a 1907 book by humorist Gelett Burgess,
in which, under her picture, a young lady,
Miss Belinda Blurb,
offered elaborate compliments on the contents
of a book.
—Wikipedia
What book did Mr. Burgess write in 1907?
The White Cat.
Creative
connections are all around us.
Blurb can help you find them.
Belinda Bruce
Creative Director
