''The Palindromist'' is a magazine devoted to

palindrome A palindrome (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, palindromic number, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or ''racecar'', the date "Twosday, 02/02/2020" and th ...

s, published since 1996. Initially it was published biannually. The frequency switched to irregular. It is edited by

Mark Saltveit Mark Saltveit (born 1961) is a Vermont-based stand-up comedian, palindromist and writer, known for being the first World Palindrome Champion. Saltveit's interest in wordplay goes back to his childhood, when he and his young brothers would discus ...

, a

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

-based stand-up comedian who won the first-ever World Palindrome Championship. Each issue of the magazine prints a variety of palindromes in various forms (letter-unit, word-unit, and vertical), covers palindrome-related news, and seeks to accredit writers of famous palindromes. The magazine also covers closely related forms of

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, phone ...

, including calculator words and written

charades Charades (, ). is a parlor game, parlor or party game, party word game, word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the wh ...

. The magazine organizes the SymmyS Awards, an annual palindrome competition adjudicated by a celebrity panel. Past judges have included

Will Shortz William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor who is the crossword editor for ''The New York Times''. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in the invented field of enigmatology. After starting h ...

MC Paul Barman Paul Nathaniel Barman (born October 30, 1974), better known by his stage name MC Paul Barman, is an American rapper and illustrator. Having emerged during the early 2000s, Barman became a definitive voice within the realm of alternative hip hop, ...

Ben Zimmer Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Boston Globe'', and ''The ...

, David Allen Cress,

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

Demetri Martin Demetri Martin (, ''Dimitrios Evangelos Martin''; born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, cartoonist and musician. He was a contributor on ''The Daily Show''. In stand-up, he is known for his deadpan delivery, playing ...

, and

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York–based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Earl ...

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The SymmyS Awards
1996 establishments in Oregon Biannual magazines published in the United States English-language magazines Game magazines Literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1996 Magazines published in Portland, Oregon Palindromes Word games Irregularly published magazines published in the United States {{US-lit-mag-stub

See also

References

External links