He began his first job at a bookstore in Philadelphia in 1979, and he’s continued to work in bookstores on and off ever since.īefore inventory was computerized, Duncan’s sharp memory for titles and authors served him well. “The thing I really want to do is establish palindrome writing as a literary form, to show people you can write palindromes that are beautiful and funny and factual and have real literary merit,” he says.ĭuncan discovered a love for words while growing up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. “Īs palindromes have come to define him, Duncan hopes to move the ancient field into the mainstream and show people what’s possible. It’s always better if the person or organization for whom you’ve written a palindrome replies in a positive way. “Of course, I also hope that people will appreciate them. “I hope it gives people an idea of what can be accomplished in two directions,” he says. Mostly, though, Duncan just writes palindromes for fun.
And he’s written countless palindromes to serve as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions. He’s written reversible poems and tributes that were used as auction prizes. He’s written 800-word epics that don’t lose their meaning when flipped.
His creations have been featured in galleries, selected anthologies, and are the subject of an upcoming documentary. Today Duncan, who works as a staff member at the MIT Press Bookstore in Kendall Square, has developed a reputation as a professional palindromist. For fun, and then out of habit, he began reversing words he saw in print, noticing words that took on new meaning when flipped, and writing sentences that could be read backward and forward - palindromes. The discovery, which he made in the early 1980s, set him on a course he would follow for decades. He’s worked in bookstores for more than 40 years, reads often, and has tried his hand at writing novels, children’s books, song lyrics, and plays.īut it wasn’t until he stumbled onto the book “An Almanac of Words at Play” that Duncan realized words could go backwards. Words have always played a central role in Barry Duncan’s life.
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