{{Short description|Poem that can be read both forwards and backwards}} A '''reversible poem''', also called a '''palindrome poem''' or a '''reverso poem''', is a poem that can be read both forwards and backwards, with a different meaning in each direction, like this: {| class="wikitable" |+ Example !Initial order !Reversed order |- |{{color|navy|The world is doomed}}<br>I cannot believe that<br>{{color|crimson|We can save the world}} |{{color|crimson|We can save the world}}<br>I cannot believe that<br>{{color|navy|The world is doomed}} |}
Reversible poems, called ''hui-wen shih'' poems, were a Classical Chinese artform. The most famous poet using this style was the 4th-century poet Su Hui, who wrote an untitled poem now called "Star Gauge" ({{zh|c=璇璣圖|p='' xuán jī tú''}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Metail |first=Michele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGJxDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT91 |title=Wild Geese Returning: Chinese Reversible Poems |date=2017-03-28 |publisher=New York Review of Books |isbn=978-962-996-816-8 |language=en}}</ref> This poem contains 841 characters in a square grid that can be read backwards, forwards, and diagonally, with new and sometimes contradictory meanings in each direction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hinton |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRwjVzod16QC&dq=%22reversible+poem%22&pg=PA106 |title=Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology |date=2010-02-02 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-374-53190-4 |publication-date=106 |language=en}}</ref> Reversible poems in Chinese may depend not only on the words themselves, but also on the tone to produce a sense of poetry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Rea |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTslDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA227 |title=The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China |date=2015-09-08 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-28384-8 |pages=227 |language=en}}</ref> Beginning in the 1920s, punctuation (which is uncommon in Chinese) was sometimes added to clarify Chinese palindromic poems.<ref name=":0" />
English-speaking poets such as Marilyn Singer and Brian Bilston have also published reversible poems.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dawes |first1=Erika Thulin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhTqEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |title=Reading With Purpose: Selecting and Using Children's Literature for Inquiry and Engagement |last2=Cunningham |first2=Katie Egan |last3=Enriquez |first3=Grace |last4=Cappiello |first4=Mary Ann |date=2023 |publisher=Teachers College Press |isbn=978-0-8077-8180-7 |pages=54 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Bland |first=Janice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5OEEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22reverse+poem%22+%22bilston%22&pg=PA120 |title=Compelling Stories for English Language Learners: Creativity, Interculturality and Critical Literacy |date=2022-10-06 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-19000-9 |pages=120–121 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mahalel |first=Adi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuGeEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22reverse+poem%22&pg=PT134 |title=The Radical Isaac: I. L. Peretz and the Rise of Jewish Socialism |date=2023-04-01 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-9234-6 |language=en}}</ref>
Reversible poems are sometimes taught to students as a way of showing differing perspectives within the same words.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gallagher |first=Kelly |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TR3cEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT58 |title=Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts |date=2023-10-10 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-003-84304-7 |language=en |chapter=Reverse Poems}}</ref> In English, omitting punctuation and placing line breaks strategically are useful writing techniques for creating a reversible poem.<ref name=":1" />
==See also== *Retrograde verse
== References == <references />
Category:Poetic forms Category:Chinese poetry
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