https://www.npr.org/2011/10/23/141569914/was-it-a-cat-i-saw-nope-it-was-a-palindrome

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Was It A Cat I Saw? (Nope: It Was A Palindrome) "Madam, I'm Adam!" is
child's play. Master palindromist Barry Duncan creates works of art
that are paragraphs long and read the same forward and backward. The
secret, he says, is finding the middle, "the letter on which the
palindrome is going to pivot and turn."

Strange News

Was It A Cat I Saw? (Nope: It Was A Palindrome)

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October 23, 20112:56 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered

NPR Staff

Was It A Cat I Saw? (Nope: It Was A Palindrome)

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  * Transcript

[palindrome]

Barry Duncan constructs a palindrome in a scene from Michael Rossi's
documentary The Master Palindromist. "I happen to believe that I can
change the world with reversibility," Duncan says.

Michael Rossi/ hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Rossi/

Barry Duncan has an obsession that follows him everywhere he goes. "I
see street signs, restaurant menus, objects while I'm walking along,
and I'm just reversing them all the time," he tells Guy Raz, host of
weekends on All Things Considered.

Duncan is a master palindromist. He creates phrases, sentences, even
passages that read the same forward and backward. He's been at it
since 1981, when he was working at a bookstore in Philadelphia and
stumbled onto a book of wordplay.

[duncan-0c9]
Enlarge this image

Master palindromist Barry Duncan doesn't stop at just a few words.
His "epic" and "mega" palindromes can be paragraphs long. Click here
to see Duncan's 400-plus word "Greenward" palindrome.

Michael Rossi/ hide caption

toggle caption
Michael Rossi/

Master palindromist Barry Duncan doesn't stop at just a few words.
His "epic" and "mega" palindromes can be paragraphs long. Click here
to see Duncan's 400-plus word "Greenward" palindrome.

Michael Rossi/

"I was 24 years old, so I'm sure at that point I knew what a
palindrome was," Duncan says. "But when I saw palindromes on the
page, I just thought: I could do that. I just felt like something was
missing that I needed to do. And so I've been doing it since then."

In the beginning, Duncan's palindrome obsession wasn't much fun. For
the first 10 years, he says, it drove him a little crazy. "There was
a point in the early '90s where I thought I would have to be
hospitalized," Duncan says. "I would go to bed thinking I was missing
three letters from the beginning of a palindrome and I could work it
out, and I just couldn't. Now I know better."

Duncan is constantly working out new palindromes -- not just on paper,
but in his head. Strolling down the street, he spots a "Don't Walk"
sign. He turns the words around in his head and comes up with "Don't
nod" and "Walk Law" -- both palindromes. He expands "Walk Law" to
"Walk, sir, I risk law." He identifies the "I" as the middle pivot
point and then begins to build it out on each side. "I walk, sir. I
risk law. I" leaves that last "I" dangling, so he resolves it by
adding one more word: "Won't I walk, sir? I risk law. It now."

Considering 'All Things Considered'

An NPR palindrome by Barry Duncan

Wondered: Is no craft on still? ATC, a FM as awed it. Turn it on,
aide. Me. Radio show. On air, a host in U.S. not as Raz (czar Sat, on
Sun). It's, oh, aria now? Oh, so I dare? Media not in rut. Tide was/
am fact: All (it's not far) considered now.

Once Duncan gets rolling, he can write some of the longest
palindromes in the world. He has written palindromes for friends that
are 800 words long. He fills up pages and pages of notebooks. He
reads them at parties. He writes them for local businesses. But his
favorite palindromes are the ones that aren't obvious -- they're
stealth wordplay.

"When I was in Russia in 1997, I sent an email to a friend and I gave
it the subject line 'Part One: Russia is sure no trap,' " Duncan
says. "The person never commented on it, so I think maybe it was
never detected to be a palindrome."

In 2010, Duncan wrote a palindrome expressing his incredulity that
Lost was still airing new episodes on ABC: "No, still? It's not so
long? No, Lost on. Still, it's on?"

Duncan says that the secret to writing a good palindrome lies in
finding its middle, its center. You have to identify "the letter on
which the palindrome is going to pivot and turn," he explains.

Master Palindromist: Way Beyond 'Madam, I'm Adam'

Blog Of The Nation

Master Palindromist: Way Beyond 'Madam, I'm Adam'

That perfect fit isn't just about letters. Finding the word that
works, or puzzling through a complex language challenge can be a
tremendously rewarding experience.

"I think it's one of life's sweetest moments when we find the people
or things that are right for us, or fit us, or resonate with us, or
compliment us. And that's how I feel about me and reversibility,"
Duncan says. "I feel like once I saw it, I knew it was something that
was missing. And now we've had a pretty good relationship for 30
years."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading Palindromes: A Casual Introduction

By Barry Duncan

If you are new to reading palindromes, here is the best advice I can
give you: Read a palindrome the way you would read anything else. In
other words, read it forward. If you insist on reading it forward and
backward (thinking that you are being clever and sophisticated by
following both ends until they meet in the middle), you may become
dizzy and confused. Wait. The time will come.

Some novice readers of palindromes are under the impression that the
punctuation in a palindrome must be the same in both directions.
These people are misinformed. Pay them no mind.

Without too much formal training, you should be able to recognize
some of the mistakes made by beginning palindromists. There is the
unfortunate stylistic decision to use all capital letters in the
palindrome. There is the near-fatal error of doubling in the middle,
instead of letting the palindrome pivot and turn. These early efforts
are often marked by the use of abbreviations, proper nouns, strange
exclamations, unusual spelling and erratic punctuation. The
palindromist's goal should be to produce something that is as close
to everyday language as possible. Even an experienced palindromist
will sometimes find it necessary to employ abbreviations and abrupt
exclamations, of course, but standard usage is always preferred.

When you are finally comfortable with the idea of reversibility, it
should be safe for you to read a palindrome forward and backward. In
addition to being a useful mental/visual exercise, this reversing can
also have practical advantages. Perhaps you suspect that the
palindrome you are reading was written by an incompetent and
therefore you want to make sure that it really is the same both ways?
Check it. Perhaps you are completely stunned by a masterful
palindrome and simply cannot believe that front and back meet in the
middle? Trace away. One effective method for learning to write
palindromes is to read palindromes back and forth (with a reversible
eye, as it were). Keep in mind, however, that the process may remain
a mystery to you even after its mystery has been revealed.

How do we determine the quality of a palindrome? Certainly, the work
of an accomplished palindromist will be smoother and less balky than
that of a beginner; its cadence will seem more natural. I am
impressed when a palindrome contains grammatically correct sentences.
While you should be careful not to judge a palindrome by its size --
quick and concise is preferable to sprawling and chaotic -- a big
palindrome that consistently makes sense is a notable achievement. If
someone is talented enough to introduce irony, humor, sarcasm or
wordplay into a palindrome, that is worth admiring. And one sure sign
of uncommon reversible aptitude is the ability to write on virtually
any subject; it takes a peculiar combination of versatility and
strength to be able to compose a palindrome on demand.

Palindrome writing is an exacting discipline, and a mastery of
reversibility is not acquired overnight. If you will continue to work
on your reading, and will allow us to work on our writing, I am
confident that we will meet in the middle.

Related NPR Stories

Know This Headline's Font? You're 'Just My Type' Sept. 4, 2011
Not Jest For Pun: A Surprising History Of Wordplay May 14, 2011

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