New York Times comma quibble sparks a Twitter kerfuffle
Author Ann Patchett dogs the Gray Lady with a lighthearted scolding about punctuation—and provides an object lesson in the curious nature of viral tweets. But is she right?
Be it known: Author Ann Patchett is a gifted stylist and novelist.
She is not, however, married to her dog.
Patchett was the object of a recent Twitter eruption when she wrote to The New York Times Sunday Book Review to clarify the matter after a reviewer committed some awkward phrasing.
Patchett’s letter not only provided a reminder of the never-ending debate over punctuation, but it also demonstrated the quirky power of the 140-character medium to skyrocket a message into the stratosphere, even for those with small numbers of followers.
In a letter headlined “Puppy Love,” the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novelist wrote to the Gray Lady:
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