Whether your sentence needs an exciting exclamation, a moment of inquiry and interrogation, a pause of consideration, or a firm and decisive stop, punctuation is an indispensable tool of the writer—to use or disregard as he or she pleases. Tomorrow, for National Punctuation Day, we will celebrate the importance of a well-placed comma, and the ways a procession of ellipses or a semicolon or an em-dash can affect meaning. Celebrate your favorite punctuation by reading poets known for their unorthodox use (or lack of use) of punctuation, such as James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and, of course, E. E. Cummings.

 

browse poems by James Joyce

browse poems by Gertrude Stein

browse poems by E. E. Cummings