Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “The art of the two-way art”.
[ BOOKS BEING STACKED, ] BARRY DUNCAN Those of us who are under the spell of language and words. I think it’s pretty much like being in love with someone. And every time you look at that person. You are reminded of the entire history of your relationship and all these possibilities that stretch out before the two of you and the depth of your feeling for that person. And I suppose for me.
It’S the same. When I look at the alphabet and see my 26 steadfast and faithful collaborators., My name is: Barry Duncan.. I write palindromes at a very high level, which is why I am known as the master palindromist. [ MUSIC PLAYING ].
I’Ve always been interested in language and always fancied myself, some kind of writer. And in 1981, when I was working at Encore Books in Philadelphia, we got a book entitled An Almanac of Words at Play. And I believe it had a chapter on palindrome writing., And when I saw that something clicked. And I just thought.
Oh, I think I could do this. And it took me a very long time –. I think I’m going to slow learner., But when I saw that there was something very beautiful and very elegant about something reading the same backward and forward., And that was the beginning of my love affair, with reversibility. [, MUSIC PLAYING ] Most of the time. I’M writing words that reverse., But you could also have numbers or symbols. Anything that goes the same forward as backward is a palindrome..
It then came to a point where I thought of reversibility, as my first language., It just became so natural to me., And it was only when I really started writing complex and long palindromes that I really felt that I had found my literary voice., The longest palindrome. I ever wrote was 2,583 characters., And that was somewhere between 800 and 825 words.. When I sit down to write a palindrome. All I really need is a canary yellow legal pad and my pen with black ink., The first thing I’ll do I’ll, grab the legal pad and write out the alphabet.. The alphabet has to be at the top of the page.. If the 26 are there, I feel much better about things..
Then I’ll usually focus on the middle of the palindrome., And you can call that anything. You want — the middle, the center, the pivot, the hinge, the swing, the turn, the break, the mirror, the point of reversal.. I usually just call it the middle., Then I’ll start thinking about vocabulary. I’ll start thinking. What are words that apply to this subject And I’ll make a list of them. And I’m trying to expand from the middle looking at combinations of letters that I could use.
And then, when I get tired of one page I’ll flip over and write the alphabet on The top of the next page and start again., I’ve written quite a few MIT palindromes for different departments and different people, different events written my palindrome for the two presidents and the List Center. And I feel very pleased to be working at MIT., But also it’s unexpected. To me that my two-way art should be welcomed so warmly here at MIT., The process of writing. Palindromes is very satisfying..
Maybe because I write in two directions: it’s doubly satisfying for me., It’s a kind of pleasure and satisfaction, I’ve never derived from any other kind. Of writing. – I always say anything that anyone can write about in one direction. I can write about in two directions. And I don’t mean that as a boast..
That is the actual definition of what I do.. I report things in two directions. [, MUSIC PLAYING ] .