This is a bit of a strange question because I know that there should never ever be a comma after 'and.' But what if there's a parenthetical statement/clause-thing right after it? Let me demonstrate.
She spread her arms, tilted her head back, and, closing her eyes, let the sun warm her face.
Should it be:
She spread her arms, tilted her head back, and closing her eyes, let the sun warm her face.
I feel like the ,and, looks really bulky, but I also feel it's necessary to separate the statement between the commas. Help?
Answer
Basically, "there should never ever be a comma after 'and'" is wrong. What you should think instead is that commas do not belong after 'and' in a list:
- I bought eggs, milk, and, bread. (Wrong! So very wrong!)
and commas also do not belong after using 'and' as a coordinating conjunction:
- The first sentence is wrong and, this one is too. (Also very wrong!)
However, commas are used around a parenthetical:
- I, having written both of these terrible sentences, sincerely apologize.
and that is exactly what is happening in your example. The comma is allowed. It is not, however, necessary, because it is at the very start of "closing her eyes, let the sun warm her face" (the final item in your list). It's not needed for the same reason you don't need a comma at the beginning of this sentence:
- Closing my eyes, I hit "Post Your Answer".
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