Event Description
Mark Saltveit & Michael Fontaine: Palindromes in English and Latin
February 28th, 2022, 1pm EDT
AMOR ROMA: In love with Ancient Rome and Palindromes? The Paideia Institute is pleased to host a free public lecture on palindromes in English and Latin. This talk will feature a joint presentation by Mark Saltveit, a world champion palindromist and standup comedian, and Prof. Michael Fontaine, Professor of Classics at Cornell University and specialist in Ancient Roman comedy and wordplay. The talk will include a brief history of palindromes and some remarks on their history and character in English, as well as a discussion of palindromes in Latin literature. The talk is free and will take place online over Zoom.
N.B. - You can view a recording of this, and other past events on Paideia's Youtube Channel.
Event Info
February 28, 2022 at 1:00pm - 2pm
Guest Speakers
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Mark Saltveit
Mark Saltveit is a stand-up comedian, writer, and palindromist based in Middlebury, Vermont. Saltveit's interest in wordplay 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 can be contacted at [email protected]
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Mike Fontaine
Mike Fontaine is a Latinist with broad interests in Ancient Rome, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment. He teaches at Cornell and twice led Paideia’s Living Latin in Rome. His latest work is a trilogy of mental health books for Princeton University Press on classical ideas of fortitude, resilience, and adaptability. Previous books covered wine, swine, mind, and a good laugh. Oh, and he was also recently parodied on Saturday Night Live (really! see it here.)
