gearyjames.bsky.social
@gearyjames.bsky.social
Aphorisms “serve as a probe or compass to explore the threads of life and poetry.” @literaryhub.bsky.social lithub.com/the-striking...
The Striking Similarities Between Aphorisms and Poetry
Aphorisms and poems have a lot in common. Both are brief, both use vivid imagery, and both have a twist, some quick textual or psychological flip, a sudden sting in the tail that gives readers a jo…
lithub.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted
On 'TRE in the Afternoon' with Hannah Murray - @gearyjames.bsky.social with 'The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism', Caroline Young on 'Vivienne Westwood: Provocateur', and Charlie Brougham reviews the weekend's sport.
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"An aphorism is the last link in a long chain of thought." See how true Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach's aphorism is in The World in A Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism — out now! #aphorism @uchicagopress

bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism, Second Edition
A Brief History of the Aphorism, Second Edition
bookshop.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Adlai Stevenson was another politician with an aphoristic sense of humor, which he used on the campaign trail... "The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning." #aphorism www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/n...
Live From New York: Zohran Mamdani’s Got Jokes
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reflecting on the demise of The Farmers’ Almanac and the origins of the American aphorism tradition, beginning in 1732 with the premier edition of Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack: "It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright." #aphorism www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Farmers’ Almanac Succumbs to the Digital Age
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
“The aphorism,” Geary writes, “is, in some ways, perfectly suited to the digital age: The oldest form of literature finds its ideal vehicle in the most modern short modes of communication.” Thanks for reading and writing @mashedradish.bsky.social #aphorism mashedradish.com/2025/11/07/a...
“Literature’s hand luggage”: wit and wisdom in James Geary’s “The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism”
A definitive—and delightful—handbook to the hard-to-define aphorism.
mashedradish.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Reposted
I reviewed James Geary's new second edition of his delightful handbook to the aphorism, The World in a Phrase, which sparkles with the wit and wisdom of those he quotes: mashedradish.com/2025/11/07/a...
“Literature’s hand luggage”: wit and wisdom in James Geary’s “The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism”
A definitive—and delightful—handbook to the hard-to-define aphorism.
mashedradish.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:42 PM
www.harvard.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:41 PM
My talk at Harvard's Memorial Church (starting at 7:19 and ending at 14:03) on how play makes something out of nothing, inspired by Giacomo Leopardi's #aphorism: "Children find everything in nothing, adults find nothing in everything.

soundcloud.com/memorial-chu...
James Geary - Nov. 3, 2025 | Morning Prayers
Morning Prayers service with speaker James Geary, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Nov. 3, 2025. Transcript: https://memorialchurch.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum7126/files
soundcloud.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Richard Kostelanetz’s aphorisms of “radical constraint”…

Four-words:
If uninvited, arrive late.
Anyone understood becomes predictable.

Three-words:
Eschew questionable explanations.
Be seriously funny.

Two-words:
never generalize
sentences end
#aphorisms jamesgeary.com/richard-kost...
Richard Kostelanetz’s aphorisms of “radical constraint” – James Geary
jamesgeary.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:15 PM
#puns #wit the pun is the highest not the lowest form of wit
October 21, 2025 at 12:45 PM
All politics are local. —Tip O’Neill … #aphorism on the street
October 20, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Put the best shit at the end, the second-best shit at the beginning, and all the other shit in between. —John Bennet jamesgeary.com/aphorisms-on...
Aphorisms on journalism by John Bennet – James Geary
jamesgeary.com
October 19, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Be seriously funny. —Richard Kostelanetz’s aphorisms of “radical constraint”

jamesgeary.com/richard-kost...
Richard Kostelanetz’s aphorisms of “radical constraint” – James Geary
jamesgeary.com
October 18, 2025 at 5:20 PM
October 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
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October 12, 2025 at 12:23 PM