Jean Harkin's Blog - Posts Tagged "john-richards"
Our Friends: Libraries and Apostrophes
April 19 to 25 is National Library Week. As a nation we rightly honor the public library as a keeper of memories of the human experience and a place to conquer all that is wrong in the world. Our friends, the able librarians and their assistants graciously welcome us and intelligently refer us to the fonts of entertainment and knowledge awaiting us on the library shelves. Even though the doors are now closed to protect our health, e-books, audio books, and other resources are still available through the library.
Let’s look at something smaller than a library but larger than a virus: Apostrophes! Can this little punctuation mark be our friend too? Yes, it can help to guide and clarify what we read. This tiny sometimes-curly mark indicates possession and alerts us to a missing letter or two in a contraction. Doesn’t it?
Our grammatical friend, Apostrophe, has suffered abuse though. And to save it, John Richards, a retired sub-editor in the UK, established the Apostrophe Protection Society in his Lincolnshire home town of Boston, in 2001, with 257 members.
The society’s first success was getting the Boston library to write “CDs” instead of “CD’s.” CDs, of course is not possessive unless you write “the CD’s title is. . .” for example.
Another of the society’s gripes was that many local stores removed the apostrophe from family-named stores, such as Harrods, Waterstones, Currys, in contrast to properly punctuated McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s (and Macy’s!)
In 2001 Richards won the satiric IgNobel Prize for “his efforts to protect, promote, and defend the differences between plural and possessive.” An endeavor I heartily applaud! As I show correctly: “the Harkins left Ireland.” “This is Jean Harkin’s blog.” “Let’s visit the Harkins’ house.”
I am trying to be as polite in my examples as Richards and his son Stephen tried to be. But sadly, the Apostrophe Protection Society folded in 2019, overtaken by a tide of faster, more careless punctuation styles. For one thing, print media tends to begrudge the spaces taken up by “unnecessary” punctuation. Even commas are now suffering!
Back to the library: When it’s safe to return to normal life after the pandemic, be sure to visit your local library and celebrate the friendship and valuable assistance provided there. Two books you might check out and enjoy are the following:
1) “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean
2) “The Great Typo Hunt” by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson
* Thanks to Wikipedia for information about the Apostrophe Protection Society.
Let’s look at something smaller than a library but larger than a virus: Apostrophes! Can this little punctuation mark be our friend too? Yes, it can help to guide and clarify what we read. This tiny sometimes-curly mark indicates possession and alerts us to a missing letter or two in a contraction. Doesn’t it?
Our grammatical friend, Apostrophe, has suffered abuse though. And to save it, John Richards, a retired sub-editor in the UK, established the Apostrophe Protection Society in his Lincolnshire home town of Boston, in 2001, with 257 members.
The society’s first success was getting the Boston library to write “CDs” instead of “CD’s.” CDs, of course is not possessive unless you write “the CD’s title is. . .” for example.
Another of the society’s gripes was that many local stores removed the apostrophe from family-named stores, such as Harrods, Waterstones, Currys, in contrast to properly punctuated McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s (and Macy’s!)
In 2001 Richards won the satiric IgNobel Prize for “his efforts to protect, promote, and defend the differences between plural and possessive.” An endeavor I heartily applaud! As I show correctly: “the Harkins left Ireland.” “This is Jean Harkin’s blog.” “Let’s visit the Harkins’ house.”
I am trying to be as polite in my examples as Richards and his son Stephen tried to be. But sadly, the Apostrophe Protection Society folded in 2019, overtaken by a tide of faster, more careless punctuation styles. For one thing, print media tends to begrudge the spaces taken up by “unnecessary” punctuation. Even commas are now suffering!
Back to the library: When it’s safe to return to normal life after the pandemic, be sure to visit your local library and celebrate the friendship and valuable assistance provided there. Two books you might check out and enjoy are the following:
1) “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean
2) “The Great Typo Hunt” by Jeff Deck and Benjamin D. Herson
* Thanks to Wikipedia for information about the Apostrophe Protection Society.
For Diversity's Sake! Readers Wanted
“Diversity” is an often-used word these days, for many reasons and themes from the environment to social culture to literature.
Anthologies are showcases of diversity, containing a variety of writings, genres, writing styles, and authors’ points of view. This month, I draw your attention to three anthologies to tempt you:
The first is brand new, even pre-new. To be released May 18, “Denial Kills” is published by Not a Pipe Publishing and contains the writings of 23 authors from around the world. The book description reads, “There is another sinister threat (besides fear) . . .when if not addressed before it sets in, can be deadly. Denial, when allowed to fester, can have various consequences.” Examples follow in the stories, showing how denial can cost women their happiness, sanity, and even their lives.
Authors from Sweden to Australia, from Pakistan to Zimbabwe are contributors to this collection of stories and poems. Styles are as varied as the writers themselves. Diversity rules even while “Denial Kills.”
Another anthology was published in November 2020 during the pandemic by the Writers’ Mill group during a Zoom meeting (lots of writing, editing, and decision making led up to this.) The group’s eighth volume is “Journeys through Chaos: an Anthology to Bring us Together.” To find this book on Amazon, input both title and subtitle or look under “Writers’ Mill Journal.” It’s the book with the bright pinkish color. And the journeys between front and back covers vary from humorous to serious and are brightly diverse.
An older anthology, but still a goodie (I hope) is my own 2016 anthology of stories, some quirkier than others, titled “Night in Alcatraz and Other Uncanny Tales.”
I’m thrilled that “Alcatraz,” my first publication will soon have a “sibling.” My novel, “Promise Full of Thorns” has been accepted for publication, and I’ve signed a contract with Sunbury Press. When proofreading time comes, I’d like a few readers to give my novel a quick but focused read for typos and goofs. Please let me know if you’re interested. Thanks!
I am sorry to note the passing of John Richards at age 97. He died March 30 in Lincolnshire, England. John, a retired journalist and copy editor, was a grand old warrior for correct punctuation and word usage; together with his son, he founded the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001 to save a “poor defenseless” punctuation mark. He finally gave up the effort in 2019, stating that “barbarians” and lazy journalism had won out over his efforts to preserve the correct uses of the apostrophe.
Anthologies are showcases of diversity, containing a variety of writings, genres, writing styles, and authors’ points of view. This month, I draw your attention to three anthologies to tempt you:
The first is brand new, even pre-new. To be released May 18, “Denial Kills” is published by Not a Pipe Publishing and contains the writings of 23 authors from around the world. The book description reads, “There is another sinister threat (besides fear) . . .when if not addressed before it sets in, can be deadly. Denial, when allowed to fester, can have various consequences.” Examples follow in the stories, showing how denial can cost women their happiness, sanity, and even their lives.
Authors from Sweden to Australia, from Pakistan to Zimbabwe are contributors to this collection of stories and poems. Styles are as varied as the writers themselves. Diversity rules even while “Denial Kills.”
Another anthology was published in November 2020 during the pandemic by the Writers’ Mill group during a Zoom meeting (lots of writing, editing, and decision making led up to this.) The group’s eighth volume is “Journeys through Chaos: an Anthology to Bring us Together.” To find this book on Amazon, input both title and subtitle or look under “Writers’ Mill Journal.” It’s the book with the bright pinkish color. And the journeys between front and back covers vary from humorous to serious and are brightly diverse.
An older anthology, but still a goodie (I hope) is my own 2016 anthology of stories, some quirkier than others, titled “Night in Alcatraz and Other Uncanny Tales.”
I’m thrilled that “Alcatraz,” my first publication will soon have a “sibling.” My novel, “Promise Full of Thorns” has been accepted for publication, and I’ve signed a contract with Sunbury Press. When proofreading time comes, I’d like a few readers to give my novel a quick but focused read for typos and goofs. Please let me know if you’re interested. Thanks!
I am sorry to note the passing of John Richards at age 97. He died March 30 in Lincolnshire, England. John, a retired journalist and copy editor, was a grand old warrior for correct punctuation and word usage; together with his son, he founded the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001 to save a “poor defenseless” punctuation mark. He finally gave up the effort in 2019, stating that “barbarians” and lazy journalism had won out over his efforts to preserve the correct uses of the apostrophe.
