Mark Saltveit (born 1961) is a

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-based stand-up comedian, palindromist and writer, known for being the first World Palindrome Champion. Saltveit's interest in

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

goes back to his childhood, when he and his young brothers would discuss palindromes to stave off boredom during long family road trips. In his 20s, he began composing lengthy palindromes of his own. His first ("Resoled in Saratoga, riveting in a wide wale suit, I use law, Ed. I, wan, ignite virago, tar a snide loser.") is remarkable for its length, but took only a matter of hours to compose. In 1996, Saltveit founded '' The Palindromist'', a biennial magazine devoted to palindromes and closely-related forms of wordplay. He is currently a researcher and lecturer on various forms of wordplay including the tradition of palindromes in Latin and other ancient languages. On March 16, 2012, Saltveit won the first-ever World Palindrome Championship. The contest, held in

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before a live audience of 700, was organized by enigmatologist

Will Shortz William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor and crossword puzzle editor for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Will Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indi ...

. Saltveit's winning entries beat out those of the six other contestants, including cartoonist Jon Agee and biostatistics professor John Connett. Will Shortz called Saltveit the “king of palindromes.” Saltveit is the subject of a documentary short, ''A Man, a Plan, a Palindrome'', which premiered at the

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in 2015. The filmmaker, Vince Clemente, planned to produce a feature-length version covering Saltveit's and his fellow contestants' preparations for the World Palindrome Championship in 2017. Saltveit lost that competition to Lori Wike.

Bibliography

* ''Computer Fun for Everyone: Great Things to Do and Make with Any Computer'' (with Elin Kordahl Saltveit). Jossey-Bass, 1998 . * ''A Man, A Plan ... 2002; The Year in Palindromes''. Palindromist Press, 2001. . * ''The Tao of Chip Kelly: Lessons from America's Most Innovative Coach''.

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, 2013. . * ''Controlled Chaos: Chip Kelly's Football Revolution''.

, 2015. .

References

External links

Palindromist Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltveit, Mark 1962 births Writers from Portland, Oregon Palindromists American stand-up comedians Living people 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians