In Brief: Paola Antonelli on the @, EmDashes Collects Symbol Sonnets

Earlier this year, the Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Architecture and Design acquired @, the now ubiquitous symbol whose creation is credited to American engineer, e-mail pioneer, and accidental designer Ray Tomlinson. “It is a momentous, elating acquisition that makes us all proud,” said Paola Antonelli back in March. The MoMA senior curator recently elaborated on the @ as a guest on Studio 360, the nationally-syndicated weekly radio show hosted by the contagiously curious Kurt Andersen. Click below to listen as Antonelli tells the story of the swirly symbol and then settle in for the full episode, which includes a chat with the founder of Pandora, the Internet jukebox that makes personalized radio stations.

And speaking of symbols, our friends at EmDashes are about to wrap up a contest that founder Emily Gordon describes as “a balm to
punctuation geeks and typophiles.” The challenge: write a letter to your favorite punctuation mark (or perhaps one you find elusive, insufficiently loved, or sound but overexposed). There’s a swell new book to be won: Ben Greenman‘s What He’s Poised to Do (Harper Perennial), whose title suggests that Greenman may have a soft spot for the colon. Even if you’re not ready to go public with your forbidden love for the interrobang, we suggest taking a look at the entries received thus far. “We think the letters are really funny!” Gordon tells us. “Or, in some cases, just plain bizarre.” You have until the sleepiest judge wakes up tomorrow to add your epistle.

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