The Word Jugglers

The Last Beat; London, 1966A policeman walks the empty streets of London Town on the eve of his death from a heart attack. As is his custom, he makes up tongue-in-cheek plays on words while reflecting on the sad state of society. The rhymes come to him to the beat of his footfall and a clock announcing midnight. From a Critical Point of View; New York City, 1990A wicked critic writes columns for a daily paper.
He finds it more rewarding to criticise by twisting the truth into satire than to produce balanced reports on the artistic efforts he evaluates. Loneliness is his only friend, and he writes for the self-satisfaction by putting down others with his eloquent pen. The Palindrome; England, 1976In the exchange of two letters - one begging for human contact, the other refusing it - it is shown that you will reap only what you have sown.
The reader's sympathy is intentionally meant to shift as the facts are revealed. The story has been written in such a way that the events go continuously backwards in time while it maintains its palindrome framework. A palindrome, for those who may not be aware of it, is a game with words that spell the same backward or forward ('able was I ere I saw Elba'). Neville's Daughter and the Genius with the Bottle; Ireland; 1984Recognition, admiration, village bard .