Patricia T. O'Conner

Patricia T. O’Conner

Patricia T. O’Conner (born February 19, 1949) is the author of five books about the English language.^[1] A former editor at The New York Times Book Review, she appears monthly on WNYC as the "word maven" for The Leonard Lopate Show.^[2] She has written extensively for The New York Times, including On Language columns, book reviews, and articles for the op-ed page and the Week in Review section.

She and Stewart Kellerman, her husband and co-author of several books and articles, answer questions about the English language on The Grammarphobia Blog.^[3] She graduated from Grinnell College in 1971 with a BA in philosophy, and received an honorary degree from Grinnell in 2006.^[4]

Books

• Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English (Riverhead, 3rd ed., 2010, ISBN 978-1-57322-331-7)

• Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, co-authored by Kellerman (Random House, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8129-7810-0)

• Woe Is I Jr.: The Younger Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English (Putnam, 2007, ISBN 978-0-399-24331-8)

• You Send Me: Getting It Right When You Write Online, co-authored by Kellerman (Harcourt, 2002, ISBN 978-0-15-602733-5)

• Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing (Harcourt, 1999, ISBN 978-0-15-601087-0)

Articles

Articles include:

• On Language: "All-Purpose Pronoun'", co-authored by Kellerman, New York Times, July 21, 2009.^[5]

• On Language: "Like", New York Times, July 15, 2007.^[6]

• On Language: "The Way We Live Now: 8-11-02: On Language," co-authored by Kellerman, New York Times, Aug. 11, 2002.^[7]

• On Language: "Grammar Cops", New York Times, Sept. 7, 1997.^[8]

• On Language: "Breaking the Rules", New York Times, July 28, 1996.^[9]

• On Language: "Spine Tinglers", New York Times, Aug. 27, 1995.^[10]

• Book Review: "Speech Crimes", New York Times, March 11, 2007.^[11]

• Book Review: "Mr. Darcy Is a Boorish Snob. Please Discuss", New York Times, May 2, 2004.^[12]

• Book Review: "Grisly Pictures From an Institution", New York Times, Dec. 7, 2003.^[13]

• Book Review: "Wigged Out?", New York Times, Dec. 8, 2002.^[14]

• Book Review: "Zo. Qi. Doh. Hoo. Qursh.", New York Times, Aug. 26, 2001.^[15]

• Book Review: "Party Girl", New York Times, Jan. 23, 2000.^[16]

• Op-Ed: "The I’s Have It", co-authored by Kellerman, New York Times, Feb. 23, 2009.^[17]

• Week in Review: "Ideas & Trends; It's Just Fine to Boldly Go", New York Times, Nov. 1, 1998.^[18]

References

1. Books by Patricia T. O'Conner. Amazon.com
2. Word Maven Patricia T. O'Conner. The Leonard Lopate Show. WNYC.
3. The Grammarphobia Blog
4. 2006 Honorary Degree Recipients. Grinnell College.
5. "All-Purpose Pronoun"
6. Like
7. "The way we live now"
8. "Grammar Cops"
9. "Breaking the Rules"
10. "Spine Tinglers"
11. "Speech Crimes"
12. "Mr. Darcy Is a Boorish Snob. Please Discuss"
13. "Grisly Pictures From an Institution"
14. "Wigged Out?"
15. "Zo. Qi. Doh. Hoo. Qursh."
16. "Party Girl"
17. "The I’s Have It"
18. "Ideas & Trends; It's Just Fine to Boldly Go"