Taddle Creek to war against apostrophe abuse

The word idiosyncratic seems to have been designed especially for Taddle Creek magazine, the semi-annual literary journal published out of Toronto. And I mean that in a nice way.

This unlikely magazine is celebrating its 10th anniversary by publishing a fat, colourful issue, launching a painstakingly redesigned website and (almost a requirement for small magazines) throwing a launch party. The free party is on Wednesday, November 28th, at the Gladstone Hotel ballroom, 1214 Queen Street West in Toronto, starting at 8 p.m.

The 10th anniversary issue contains an editorial in which Editor-in-Chief Conan Tobias (who earns his daily bread as managing editor of Canadian Business magazine) serves notice on the world that henceforth letters will be sent by the magazine to "those most guilty of apostrophe misuse". (This campaign seems to have displaced or superseded the magazine's previous fixation with stamping out the use of two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence. This rule still holds true, but it is left to the magazines's stern submission style guide to keep the public prints in order.)

Taddle Creek's submission guidelines are described in the letters page by one reader as snotty and by another as snarky and pretentious. "Why the fuck would I want to submit to a magazine that treats me like I'm a misbehaving schoolchild?," said the latter.

Well, for one thing, isn't it a pleasure to deal with a magazine whichthat knows what it's about and whose editors know what they want and which treats language and literature with such respect? (OK, that's three things.)