Poetry in Motion

In October 1955, shortly after winning the Pulitzer Prize, Marianne Moore was approached by the Ford Motor Company to help devise a name for a new series of cars. “We should like it to have a compelling quality in itself and by itself,” wrote marketing research manager David Wallace. “To convey, through association or other conjuration, some visceral feeling of elegance, fleetness, advanced features and design.”

Moore accepted the challenge and contributed her suggestions throughout the year that followed. These included:

  • The Resilient Bullet
  • The Intelligent Whale
  • The Ford Fabergé
  • The Arc-en-Ciel
  • The Mongoose Civique
  • The Anticipator
  • The Regna Racer
  • The Aeroterre
  • The Turbotorc
  • The Thunder Crester
  • The Magigravure
  • The Pastelogram
  • The Utopian Turtletop

Ford added these to its own growing list. Finally, in November 1956, Wallace sent her the company’s decision. “We have chosen a name out of the more than six-thousand-odd candidates that we gathered,” he wrote. “It has a certain ring to it. An air of gaiety and zest. At least, that’s what we keep saying. Our name, dear Miss Moore, is — Edsel.”