The Anagram Times: The Anagram Times Q&A with Russ Atkinson WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015 The Anagram Times Q&A with Russ Atkinson In his former life as an FBI agent, Russ Atkinson chased white collar criminals and rapists and everything in between. Now retired, he chases letters and tortures them until they cough up the anagrams he wants. Read on for a special Q&A with The Anagram Times's crime reporter Russ Atkinson. Q How did you get into anagrams? A I've always enjoyed wordplay, witty dialogue, puns, palindromes, etc. My interest in anagrams probably increased after I became active in the American Cryptogram Association (ACA) in the 1970s. Many of the cipher types they use are transposition types, in essence anagrams of the entire plaintext, so anagramming is a useful skill for the ACA. In 2007 I served as ACA president in 2007-2008. But even before that, as early as high school, I enjoyed crosswords and acrostics. My mother subscribed to The
