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Happy Rea Irvin's Birthday!
Filed under: Little Words Tagged: Rea Irvin, art, cartoons, design, illustration, punctuation
We always like to remember the high life, meticulous labors, and lasting legacy of Rea Irvin, The New Yorker’s first and most influential art director, but especially on this day, his birthday. Hooray for Rea! Meanwhile, for those awaiting punctuation contest results, be patient—they’re coming! —Emily Gordon
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For When You're Looking for Emily Fox Gordon But Find Emily Gordon Instead
Filed under: Little Words Tagged: Emily Fox Gordon, Emily Gordon, Emily Gordons
The world of Emily Gordons is an honorable guild of creative workers, with only a few exceptions—and those exceptions get a free pass because they’re undergraduates and, lord knows, we would have made awful fools of ourselves if we had been online then. (By “we,” I mean “me.”) Notable Emily Gordons include the polymathically brilliant Emily Gordon, writer of Gynomite! and, among many other things, a licensed therapist who gives me platinum advice for free. And for more than a decade, I’ve been following the writing career of Emily Fox Gordon, whose beautifully crafted essays, fiction, and book-length nonfiction are a pleasure to read. Now she’s working on a new novel, and, speaking for all Emily Gordons, we are very excited to read it. —Emily Gordon
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Since We're Obsessed With Punctuation at the Moment
Filed under: Little Words Tagged: controversies, punctuation, Slashdot
…or, to be frank, always, we’d like to note this Slashdot story about the war between the sarcasm symbols. Yes, the sarcasm symbols. It sounds like a dirty fight for a low form of humor, but still, it’s correct that punctuation controversies should be in the news, at the top of the hour, above the fold (if not the fray).
—Emily Gordon
The Sport in Which Nothing Happens
Filed under: Little Words Tagged: football, NFL, soccer, Wall Street Journal, World Cup
Jonathan Taylor writes:
I skipped the usual World Cup back-and-forth over American distaste for soccer, but for those who like to point to soccer's scoreless ties and whatnot: According to the Wall Street Journal, the average NFL game has an average of 11 minutes of play (compared with 67 minutes of "players standing around").
(via Felix Salmon's Counterparties)
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On His Radio Show, Jonathan Schwartz Suggests a Renata Adler Set
Filed under: Little Words Tagged: books, fiction, Jonathan Schwartz, Knopf, publishing, radio, Random House, Renata Adler
Emily writes:
…Pitch Dark and Speedboat, in one volume, with an updated cover design (my suggestion). I think it’s a terrific idea. I’d buy it.
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About us
Hello! We are media enthusiasts and culture addicts—not to mention classically trained (as we like to say) professional journalists. This is our collection of generally civilized conversations about magazines, movies, politics, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
You'd like to read more about us individually? That's so nice! Here you can learn a lot more about the Emdashes team, the mysterious-sounding names of our daily and non-daily columns, and our guest contributors.
We welcome tips, questions, and comments, and are always looking for ardent new contributors who care about letters (postal, typographical, admiring, literary, and tough-love). Here's how to contact us.
Occasionally, we host book giveaways, and review books here as often as we can. Publishers, please e-mail us and we'll send you an appropriate mailing address.
Tell me more
They say that dashes “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like em dashes—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is currently written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. (Unsigned posts through October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.)
The site is designed and maintained by House of Pretty and illustrated by Jesse Ewing for Inkleaf Studio. Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (who also draws our daily comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The kissable Emdashes logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World; PDF, p. 20)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, man about town, and New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Report: Learning to read with comic books--that are edited by Françoise Mouly (for Print)
- Interview: Designer Eleanor Grosch (for Print)
- Proposal: a better-designed Metrocard (for A Brief Message)
- Review: Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis (for Newsday)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Review: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Report: Eustace Tilley spruces up for The New Yorker's website redesign (for Print)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Micro-essay: on saving time through inspiration (for A Brief Message)
- Review: books about various New Yorker cartoonists by Liza Donnelly and Iain Topliss (for Newsday)
- Profile: screenwriter and novelist Joe Keenan (for Newsday)
- Review: The Complete New Yorker (for Print)
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