Index: src/sp-desc.h
===================================================================
--- src/sp-desc.h	(revision 0)
+++ src/sp-desc.h	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#ifndef __SP_DESC_H__
+#define __SP_DESC_H__
+
+/*
+ * SVG <desc> implementation
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ *   Jeff Schiller <codedread@gmail.com>
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2008 Jeff Schiller
+ *
+ * Released under GNU GPL, read the file 'COPYING' for more information
+ */
+
+#include "sp-object.h"
+
+#define SP_TYPE_DESC            (sp_desc_get_type ())
+#define SP_IS_DESC(obj)         (G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE_TYPE ((obj), SP_TYPE_DESC))
+
+class SPDesc;
+class SPDescClass;
+
+struct SPDesc : public SPObject {
+};
+
+struct SPDescClass {
+	SPObjectClass parent_class;
+};
+
+GType sp_desc_get_type (void);
+
+#endif
Index: src/sp-object-repr.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-object-repr.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-object-repr.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@
 #include "sp-feturbulence.h"
 #include "sp-femergenode.h"
 #include "live_effects/lpeobject.h"
+#include "sp-title.h"
+#include "sp-desc.h"
 
 
 enum NameType { REPR_NAME, SODIPODI_TYPE };
@@ -138,6 +140,7 @@
         { "svg:color-profile", COLORPROFILE_TYPE },
         { "svg:clipPath", SP_TYPE_CLIPPATH },
         { "svg:defs", SP_TYPE_DEFS },
+        { "svg:desc", SP_TYPE_DESC },
         { "svg:ellipse", SP_TYPE_ELLIPSE },
         { "svg:filter", SP_TYPE_FILTER },
         /* Note: flow* elements are proposed additions for SVG 1.2, they aren't in
@@ -203,6 +206,7 @@
         { "svg:symbol", SP_TYPE_SYMBOL },
         { "svg:text", SP_TYPE_TEXT },
         { "svg:textPath", SP_TYPE_TEXTPATH },
+        { "svg:title", SP_TYPE_TITLE },
         { "svg:tref", SP_TYPE_TREF },
         { "svg:tspan", SP_TYPE_TSPAN },
         { "svg:use", SP_TYPE_USE },
Index: src/sp-flowregion.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-flowregion.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-flowregion.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -238,6 +238,8 @@
             repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowRegion");
 	}
 
+    // this chunk of code was refactored out to sp-item's write method
+/*
         GSList *l = NULL;
         for ( SPObject *child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
             Inkscape::XML::Node *crepr = child->updateRepr(xml_doc, NULL, flags);
@@ -254,6 +256,7 @@
         for ( SPObject *child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
             child->updateRepr(flags);
         }
+*/
     }
 
 	if (((SPObjectClass *) (flowregion_parent_class))->write)
Index: src/dialogs/item-properties.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/dialogs/item-properties.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/dialogs/item-properties.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -348,8 +348,8 @@
             gtk_text_buffer_set_text(buf, desc, -1);
             g_free(desc);
         } else {
-            gtk_text_buffer_set_text(buf, "", 0);
-        }
+	    gtk_text_buffer_set_text(buf, "", 0);
+	}
         w = GTK_WIDGET(gtk_object_get_data(GTK_OBJECT(spw), "desc_frame"));
         gtk_widget_set_sensitive(w, TRUE);
     }
Index: src/sp-text.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-text.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-text.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -303,9 +303,11 @@
 {
     SPText *text = SP_TEXT (object);
 
-    if (flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD) {
         if (!repr)
             repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:text");
+
+	// this code was refactored out to sp-item's write method
+/*
         GSList *l = NULL;
         for (SPObject *child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
             Inkscape::XML::Node *crepr = NULL;
@@ -330,6 +332,7 @@
             }
         }
     }
+*/
 
     text->attributes.writeTo(repr);
 
Index: src/sp-tspan.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-tspan.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-tspan.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -234,12 +234,14 @@
 {
     SPTSpan *tspan = SP_TSPAN(object);
 
-    if ((flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD) && !repr) {
+    if (!repr) {
         repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:tspan");
     }
 	
     tspan->attributes.writeTo(repr);
-	
+
+    // this chunk of code has been refactored to sp-item's write method
+/*	
     if ( flags&SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD ) {
         GSList *l = NULL;
         for (SPObject* child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
@@ -268,7 +270,7 @@
                 SP_OBJECT_REPR(child)->setContent(SP_STRING(child)->string.c_str());
             }
         }
-    }
+    }*/
 	
     if (((SPObjectClass *) tspan_parent_class)->write)
         ((SPObjectClass *) tspan_parent_class)->write(object, xml_doc, repr, flags);
Index: src/sp-flowdiv.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-flowdiv.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-flowdiv.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -199,6 +199,10 @@
 
 	if ( flags&SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD ) {
 		if ( repr == NULL ) repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowDiv");
+	}
+
+	// this chunk of code was refactored out to sp-item's write method
+/*
 		GSList *l = NULL;
 		for (SPObject* child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
 			Inkscape::XML::Node* c_repr=NULL;
@@ -227,6 +231,7 @@
 			}
 		}
 	}
+*/
 
 	if (((SPObjectClass *) (flowdiv_parent_class))->write)
 		((SPObjectClass *) (flowdiv_parent_class))->write (object, xml_doc, repr, flags);
@@ -370,6 +375,10 @@
 {
 	if ( flags&SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD ) {
 		if ( repr == NULL ) repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowSpan");
+	}
+
+	// this chunk of code has been refactored to sp-item's write method
+	/*
 		GSList *l = NULL;
 		for (SPObject* child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
 			Inkscape::XML::Node* c_repr=NULL;
@@ -398,6 +407,7 @@
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	*/
 
 	if (((SPObjectClass *) (flowtspan_parent_class))->write)
 		((SPObjectClass *) (flowtspan_parent_class))->write (object, xml_doc, repr, flags);
@@ -543,6 +553,10 @@
 
 	if ( flags&SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD ) {
 		if ( repr == NULL ) repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowPara");
+	}
+
+	// this chunk of code has been refactored out to sp-item's write method
+/*
 		GSList *l = NULL;
 		for (SPObject* child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
 			Inkscape::XML::Node* c_repr=NULL;
@@ -571,6 +585,7 @@
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	*/
 
 	if (((SPObjectClass *) (flowpara_parent_class))->write)
 		((SPObjectClass *) (flowpara_parent_class))->write (object, xml_doc, repr, flags);
Index: src/sp-flowtext.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-flowtext.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-flowtext.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -293,8 +293,12 @@
 static Inkscape::XML::Node *
 sp_flowtext_write(SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *xml_doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags)
 {
+    if (!repr) 
+	repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowRoot");
+
+    // this chunk of code was refactored out to sp-item's write method
+/*
     if ( flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD ) {
-        if ( repr == NULL ) repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:flowRoot");
         GSList *l = NULL;
         for (SPObject *child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL ; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
             Inkscape::XML::Node *c_repr = NULL;
@@ -315,6 +319,7 @@
             }
         }
     }
+*/
 
     if (((SPObjectClass *) (parent_class))->write)
         ((SPObjectClass *) (parent_class))->write(object, xml_doc, repr, flags);
Index: src/sp-title.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-title.cpp	(revision 0)
+++ src/sp-title.cpp	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#define __SP_TITLE_C__
+
+/*
+ * SVG <title> implementation
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ *   Jeff Schiller <codedread@gmail.com>
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2008 Jeff Schiller
+ *
+ * Released under GNU GPL, read the file 'COPYING' for more information
+ */
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+#include "sp-title.h"
+#include "xml/repr.h"
+
+static void sp_title_class_init(SPTitleClass *klass);
+static void sp_title_init(SPTitle *rect);
+static Inkscape::XML::Node *sp_title_write(SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags);
+
+static SPObjectClass *title_parent_class;
+
+GType
+sp_title_get_type (void)
+{
+    static GType title_type = 0;
+
+    if (!title_type) {
+        GTypeInfo title_info = {
+            sizeof (SPTitleClass),
+            NULL, NULL,
+            (GClassInitFunc) sp_title_class_init,
+            NULL, NULL,
+            sizeof (SPTitle),
+            16,
+            (GInstanceInitFunc) sp_title_init,
+            NULL,    /* value_table */
+        };
+        title_type = g_type_register_static (SP_TYPE_OBJECT, "SPTitle", &title_info, (GTypeFlags)0);
+    }
+    return title_type;
+}
+
+static void
+sp_title_class_init(SPTitleClass *klass)
+{
+    SPObjectClass *sp_object_class = (SPObjectClass *) klass;
+    title_parent_class = (SPObjectClass *) g_type_class_ref(SP_TYPE_OBJECT);
+
+    sp_object_class->write = sp_title_write;
+}
+
+static void
+sp_title_init(SPTitle */*desc*/)
+{
+}
+
+/*
+ * \brief Writes it's settings to an incoming repr object, if any
+ */
+static Inkscape::XML::Node *
+sp_title_write(SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags)
+{
+    if (!repr) {
+        repr = SP_OBJECT_REPR (object)->duplicate(doc);
+    }
+
+    if (((SPObjectClass *) title_parent_class)->write)
+        ((SPObjectClass *) title_parent_class)->write(object, doc, repr, flags);
+
+    return repr;
+}
Index: src/Makefile_insert
===================================================================
--- src/Makefile_insert	(revision 19598)
+++ src/Makefile_insert	(working copy)
@@ -164,6 +164,7 @@
 	sp-conn-end.cpp sp-conn-end.h	\
 	sp-cursor.cpp sp-cursor.h	\
 	sp-defs.cpp sp-defs.h	\
+	sp-desc.cpp sp-desc.h	\
 	sp-ellipse.cpp sp-ellipse.h	\
 	sp-feblend.cpp sp-feblend.h	\
 	sp-feblend-fns.h	\
@@ -269,6 +270,7 @@
 	sp-switch.cpp sp-switch.h\
 	sp-text.cpp sp-text.h	\
 	sp-textpath.h	\
+	sp-title.cpp sp-title.h	\
 	sp-tref-reference.cpp sp-tref-reference.h \
 	sp-tref.cpp sp-tref.h \
 	sp-tspan.cpp sp-tspan.h	\
Index: src/sp-title.h
===================================================================
--- src/sp-title.h	(revision 0)
+++ src/sp-title.h	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#ifndef __SP_TITLE_H__
+#define __SP_TITLE_H__
+
+/*
+ * SVG <title> implementation
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ *   Jeff Schiller <codedread@gmail.com>
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2008 Jeff Schiller
+ *
+ * Released under GNU GPL, read the file 'COPYING' for more information
+ */
+
+#include "sp-object.h"
+
+#define SP_TYPE_TITLE           (sp_title_get_type ())
+#define SP_IS_TITLE(obj)        (G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE_TYPE ((obj), SP_TYPE_TITLE))
+
+class SPTitle;
+class SPTitleClass;
+
+struct SPTitle : public SPObject {
+};
+
+struct SPTitleClass {
+	SPObjectClass parent_class;
+};
+
+GType sp_title_get_type (void);
+
+#endif
Index: src/sp-item-group.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-item-group.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-item-group.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -221,11 +221,13 @@
 sp_group_write (SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *xml_doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags)
 {
 	SPGroup *group;
-	SPObject *child;
-	Inkscape::XML::Node *crepr;
 
 	group = SP_GROUP (object);
-
+	if (!repr) {
+            repr = xml_doc->createElement("svg:g");
+        }
+	// this chunk of code has been refactored to sp-item's write method
+	/*
 	if (flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD) {
 		GSList *l;
 		if (!repr) {
@@ -245,7 +247,7 @@
 		for (child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
 			child->updateRepr(flags);
 		}
-	}
+	}*/
 
 	if ( flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_EXT ) {
 		const char *value;
Index: src/sp-item.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-item.cpp	(revision 19598)
+++ src/sp-item.cpp	(working copy)
@@ -657,8 +657,38 @@
 static Inkscape::XML::Node *
 sp_item_write(SPObject *const object, Inkscape::XML::Document *xml_doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags)
 {
+    SPObject *child;
     SPItem *item = SP_ITEM(object);
 
+    // in the case of SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD, the item should always be newly created, 
+    // so we need to add any children from the underlying object to the new repr
+    if (flags & SP_OBJECT_WRITE_BUILD) {
+	Inkscape::XML::Node *crepr;
+	GSList *l;
+	l = NULL;
+	for (child = sp_object_first_child(object); child != NULL; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
+	    if ( SP_IS_STRING(child) ) {
+                crepr = xml_doc->createTextNode(SP_STRING(child)->string.c_str());
+            } else {
+		crepr = child->updateRepr(xml_doc, NULL, flags);
+	    }
+	    if (crepr) l = g_slist_prepend (l, crepr);
+	}
+	while (l) {
+		repr->addChild((Inkscape::XML::Node *) l->data, NULL);
+		Inkscape::GC::release((Inkscape::XML::Node *) l->data);
+		l = g_slist_remove (l, l->data);
+	}
+    } else {
+	for (child = sp_object_first_child(object) ; child != NULL; child = SP_OBJECT_NEXT(child) ) {
+	    if ( SP_IS_STRING(child) ) {
+                SP_OBJECT_REPR(child)->setContent(SP_STRING(child)->string.c_str());
+            } else {
+		child->updateRepr(flags);
+	    }
+	}
+    }
+
     gchar *c = sp_svg_transform_write(item->transform);
     repr->setAttribute("transform", c);
     g_free(c);
Index: src/sp-desc.cpp
===================================================================
--- src/sp-desc.cpp	(revision 0)
+++ src/sp-desc.cpp	(revision 0)
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#define __SP_DESC_C__
+
+/*
+ * SVG <desc> implementation
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ *   Jeff Schiller <codedread@gmail.com>
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2008 Jeff Schiller
+ *
+ * Released under GNU GPL, read the file 'COPYING' for more information
+ */
+
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+# include "config.h"
+#endif
+
+#include "sp-desc.h"
+#include "xml/repr.h"
+
+static void sp_desc_class_init(SPDescClass *klass);
+static void sp_desc_init(SPDesc *rect);
+static Inkscape::XML::Node *sp_desc_write(SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags);
+
+static SPObjectClass *desc_parent_class;
+
+GType
+sp_desc_get_type (void)
+{
+    static GType desc_type = 0;
+
+    if (!desc_type) {
+        GTypeInfo desc_info = {
+            sizeof (SPDescClass),
+            NULL, NULL,
+            (GClassInitFunc) sp_desc_class_init,
+            NULL, NULL,
+            sizeof (SPDesc),
+            16,
+            (GInstanceInitFunc) sp_desc_init,
+            NULL,    /* value_table */
+        };
+        desc_type = g_type_register_static (SP_TYPE_OBJECT, "SPDesc", &desc_info, (GTypeFlags)0);
+    }
+    return desc_type;
+}
+
+static void
+sp_desc_class_init(SPDescClass *klass)
+{
+    SPObjectClass *sp_object_class = (SPObjectClass *) klass;
+    desc_parent_class = (SPObjectClass *) g_type_class_ref(SP_TYPE_OBJECT);;
+
+    sp_object_class->write = sp_desc_write;
+}
+
+static void
+sp_desc_init(SPDesc */*desc*/)
+{
+}
+
+/*
+ * \brief Writes it's settings to an incoming repr object, if any
+ */
+static Inkscape::XML::Node *
+sp_desc_write(SPObject *object, Inkscape::XML::Document *doc, Inkscape::XML::Node *repr, guint flags)
+{
+    if (!repr) {
+        repr = SP_OBJECT_REPR (object)->duplicate(doc);
+    }
+
+    if (((SPObjectClass *) desc_parent_class)->write)
+        ((SPObjectClass *) desc_parent_class)->write(object, doc, repr, flags);
+
+    return repr;
+}