View source for Patricia T. O'Conner

{{Short description|Author of books about the English language}}
{{infobox writer
|name=Patricia T. O'Conner
|image=PatriciaTOConner.jpg
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1949|2|19}}
|birth_place=[[Des Moines, Iowa]], U.S.
|occupation=Author
|nationality=American
|education=[[Grinnell College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Minnesota]]
|spouse=[[Stewart Kellerman]]
}}
'''Patricia T. O'Conner''' (born February 19, 1949)<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Author: Patricia T. O'Conner |url=https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000AP8LXS/about |publisher=Amazon. |access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref> is the author of five books about the [[English language]]. A former staff editor at ''[[The New York Times Book Review]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Authors: Patricia T. O'Conner |url=https://www.sevenstories.com/authors/409-patricia-t-o-conner |publisher=Seven Stories Press |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> she has appeared regularly as a language commentator for [[WNYC]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Patricia T. O'Conner |url=https://www.wnyc.org/people/patricia-t-oconner/ |website=WNYC |publisher=New York Public Radio |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> and [[Iowa Public Radio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Word Maven Patricia O'Conner |url=https://www.iowapublicradio.org/show/talk-of-iowa/2010-03-30/word-maven-patricia-oconner |website=Talk of Iowa |publisher=Iowa Public Radio |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> She has written extensively for ''[[The New York Times]]'', including book reviews,<ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 14 April 2015
| title = 'Between You & Me,' by Mary Norris
| newspaper = The New York Times Book Review | page = 18
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/between-you-me-by-mary-norris.html | access-date = 27 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 12 June 2014
| title = Missed Connections
| newspaper = The New York Times Book Review
| page = 1
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/books/review/a-replacement-life-by-boris-fishman.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 23 January 2000
| title = Party Girl
| newspaper = The New York Times Book Review
| page = 1
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/23/books/party-girl.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 7 December 2003
| title = Grisly Pictures From an Institution
| newspaper = The New York Times Book Review
| page = 43
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/books/grisly-pictures-from-an-institution.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref> [[On Language]] columns,<ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 15 July 2007
| title = On Language: As some like it
| newspaper = The New York Times Magazine
| page =
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/magazine/15wwln-guest-t.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 22 August 1999
| title = On Language: Plainspeak
| newspaper = The New York Times Magazine
| page = 22
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/22/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-8-22-99-on-language-plainspeak.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 7 September 1997
| title = On Language: Grammar Cops
| newspaper = The New York Times Magazine
| page = 36
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/07/magazine/grammar-cops.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref> and articles for the op-ed page<ref>{{cite news
| last1 = O'Conner
| first1 = Patricia T.
| last2 = Kellerman
| first2 = Stewart| date = 23 February 2009
| title = The I's Have It
| newspaper = The New York Times
| page =
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/opinion/24oconner.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref> and the Week in Review<ref>{{cite news
| last = O'Conner
| first = Patricia T.
| date = 1 November 1998
| title = It's Just Fine to Boldly Go
| newspaper = The New York Times, Week in Review
| page = 4
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/01/weekinreview/ideas-trends-it-s-just-fine-to-boldly-go.html
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref> section. Her work has also appeared in ''[[Smithsonian]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine
| last1        = O'Conner
| first1       = Patricia T.
| last2        = Kellerman
| first2       = Stewart
| date        = February 2013
| title       = Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar Is Wrong
| url         = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/most-of-what-you-think-you-know-about-grammar-is-wrong-4047445/
| magazine    = Smithsonian
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Paris Review]]'',<ref>{{cite magazine
| last        = O'Conner
| first       = Patricia T.
| date        = 4 January 2008
| title       = The Reader Over Your Shoulder
| url         = https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/01/04/the-reader-over-your-shoulder/
| magazine    = The Paris Review
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023}}</ref> the ''[[Literary Review]]''<ref>{{cite magazine
| last        = O'Conner
| first       = Patricia T.
| date        = December 2020
| title       = Good Gad!
| url         = https://literaryreview.co.uk/good-gad
| magazine    = Literary Review
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
| last        = O'Conner
| first       = Patricia T.
| date        = December 2021
| title       = The Ghost of Christmas Presents Past
| url         = https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-ghost-of-christmas-presents-past
| magazine    = Literary Review
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
| last        = O'Conner
| first       = Patricia T.
| date        = September 2022
| title       = Blowing Their Cover
| url         = https://literaryreview.co.uk/blowing-their-cover
| magazine    = Literary Review
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
| last        = O'Conner
| first       = Patricia T.
| date        = September 2020
| title       = Tawk of the Town
| url         = https://literaryreview.co.uk/tawk-of-the-town
| magazine    = Literary Review
| location    =
| publisher   =
| access-date = 29 January 2023}}</ref> (London), and other publications.
A native of [[Des Moines]], [[Iowa]],<ref>{{cite news
| last = White
| first = Claire E.
| date = December 1999
| title = A Conversation With Patricia T. O'Conner
| newspaper = Writers Write: The Internet Writing Journal
| page =
| url = https://www.writerswrite.com/journal/dec99/
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last =
| first =
| date = 25 July 1971
| title = Dean's List at Grinnell
| newspaper = The Des Moines Register
| page =
| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9985098/the-des-moines-register/
| access-date = 27 January 2023
}}</ref> she graduated from [[Grinnell College]] in 1971 with a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in philosophy and received an honorary degree from Grinnell in 2006.<ref name="Grinnell News">{{cite web |title=Patricia T. O'Conner '71 Doctor of Humane Letters |url=https://www.grinnell.edu/news/patricia-t-oconner-71-doctor-humane-letters |website=Grinnell News |publisher=Grinnell College |access-date=29 January 2023 |date=1 June 2006}}</ref> She did graduate work in urban journalism at the [[University of Minnesota]], [[Minneapolis]], before beginning her career as a reporter and editor in 1973.<ref name="Grinnell News" /> After several years at ''[[The Des Moines Register]]'' and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', she joined the New York Times in 1982.<ref name="Grinnell News" />
She and [[Stewart Kellerman]], her husband<ref>{{cite journal |title=Contributors |journal=Smithsonian |date=February 2013 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/magazine/contributors-2-3698900/ |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref> and co-author of several books and articles, answer questions about the English language on The Grammarphobia Blog.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Grammarphobia Blog |url=https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog |website=Grammarphobia.com |date=2 August 2012 |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref>
==Publications==
*''Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English'' (Riverhead, 4th ed., 2019, {{ISBN|978-0525533054}})
*''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}})
*''The Reader Over Your Shoulder'', by Robert Graves with Alan Hodge; new introduction by Patricia T. O’Conner (Seven Stories Press, 2018, {{ISBN|978-1-60980-733-7}})
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconner, Patricia T.}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Grinnell College alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Des Moines, Iowa]]
[[Category:Etymologists]]
[[Category:American women journalists]]
[[Category:The New York Times editors]]
[[Category:American copy editors]]
[[Category:Writers of style guides]]
[[Category:American broadcasters]]
[[Category:American bloggers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American women bloggers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:1949 births]]