Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple [ tickets ], whose November release "When The Pawn . . ." (Clean Slate/Epic) was certified gold in December, will embark on a tour in support of the album in late February. Sales of her sophomore album have been fueled by the track "Fast As You Can," which has garnered strong support on alternative rock radio stations, and by Apple's numerous television appearances of late.

Epic Records unveiled Apple's initial touring plans via her official website. The 19-city theater tour is scheduled to open in Connecticut on Feb. 24, and is set to wrap on March 20 in Portland. Onsale dates for tickets weren't available at press time.

The full title of Apple's new album is a 90-word poem that appears on its cover:

''When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King
What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight
And He'll Win The Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters The Ring
There's Nobody To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might
So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand
And Remember That Depth Is The Greatest Of Heights
And If You Know Where You Stand, Then You'll Know Where To Land
And If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right''

In a cover story in the current issue of Spin, Apple said that the poem was a response to a 1997 Spin story which quoted her as saying, among other things, ''I'm going to cut another album, and I'm going to do good things, help people, and then I'm going to die.''

''That was just the worst,'' she said of the 1997 story in the new Spin profile. ''I just felt set up, that the angle was already decided like, 'We knew at some point she's going to say some crazy stuff'...How much do I wish I could backpedal on this title now?''