Poets? Poet’s? Poets’?
So I gather there are some questions about Taylor Swift, poets, and apostrophes.
Should it be The Tortured Poet’s Department? That would be correct if there is only one tortured poet in residence. Perhaps it’s a very small college.
Should it be The Tortured Poets’ Department? That would be correct if there is more than one tortured poet present. A seminar, maybe.
Should it be The Tortured Poets Department, as on the album cover? This is quite correct also, just as long as there is, again, more than one tortured poet. In this case, instead of a department belonging to tortured poets, it’s a department of or pertaining to tortured poets–kind of like the housewares department is not a department that belongs to housewares, but a department where housewares are relevant.
(There’s an argument for The Tortured-Poets Department, but honestly, it just looks clunky and awkward.)
Should it be The Department of Tortured Poets so that we don’t have to have this conversation anymore? I vote for this. When in a total grammatical quandary, rephrase!
Manticore
Working hard on revisions for The Griffin’s Boy…so will just share one fun legendary creature: the manticore. Body of a lion, head of a human, said to devour its victims completely and leave not even a bone behind.
Read MoreBecause Everybody Likes Quizzes
Check out this New York Times quiz of lines from classic middle grade and young adult books!
(Pet peeve–middle grade is ages 8-12. The first three Harry Potters are classic middle grade. Young adult is for ages 12 and up. Anything by Robert Cormier is classic young adult. People (I’m looking at you, New York Times) use young adult for all novels written for kids, and it’s not accurate. Thank your for listening to this public service announcement.)
Why We Do School Visits
And this, my friends, is why you want to invite an author to your kid’s school.
In case you have any difficulty with the handwriting, it reads:
“Dear Ms. Sarah, Thank you for showing us poetry. Sometimes I practice at home. Now I’m in love with poetry. Thank you for everything.”
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Thomson focuses on newfound connection, magic, and suspense to conjure a fast-paced, heartwarming mystery. Thomson’s world is populated by resourceful protagonists, fanciful creatures, and quirky supporting characters.”
—Publishers Weekly