Fall for the Book
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10 — Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25 — Wroclaw, Poland
Harvard Book Store
November 10, 7pm — 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Charleston Literary Festival
November 12, 10am — Charleston, SC
Politics and Prose
November 15, 3pm — 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
Mechanics' Hall
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm — 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
Barnes & Noble Philadelphia
November 21, 6pm — 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
Hatchards, Piccadily
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm — 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
Cambridge Literary Festival
April 22–26, 2026 — Cambridge, UK
Iowa City Book Festival
October 2026 — Iowa City, IA
The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world.
Aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms, the oldest written art form on the planet, have been going viral for thousands of years, delivering the short, sharp shock of old forgotten truths. Today, visual artists are mixing pithy language with compelling imagery and using social media to take the form into the future. In a world of disinformation and deepfakes, aphorisms point to the power of fresh debate over tired dogma and inconvenient truths over comfortable lies.
Starting in ancient China and ending with contemporary meme-makers and street artists, The World in A Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners, from the Buddha, Nietzsche, and George Eliot to James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and David Byrne. The World in A Phrase is for lovers of words and seekers of wisdom. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller features 26 additional aphorists and explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
Published by the University of Chicago Press on November 10!
Pre-order Now
Praise for The Original Edition
“Geary fell in love with aphorisms when, at 8, his eye wandered to the Quotable Quotes section of Reader’s Digest ... His attraction turned into a lifetime obsession, which he indulges to the fullest in ‘The World in a Phrase’, his entertaining love letter to the compact form.”
– New York Times
“Probably the definitive work on aphorisms, a love letter-cum-memoir disguised as a reference book ... fellow fanatics will be delighted.”
– Publishers Weekly
“It is impossible not to be swept along with Geary’s enthusiasm. He has illuminated some poignant observations of the significance of introspection.”
– The Times Literary Supplement
“What a pleasant, personal, thoughtful little book ... Geary’s account is full of wonderful aphorisms .... Delightful.”
– Booklist
Events
Upcoming Appearances
Video talk: Literature's Peak Experience: How Aphorisms Work
October 10, Fairfax, VA
International Aphorism Conference
October 24-25, Wroclaw, Poland
November 10, 7pm, 1256 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
November 12, 10am, Charleston, SC
November 15, 3pm, 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in collaboration with The Rabkin Foundation
November 18, 7pm, 519 Congress St., Portland, ME
November 21, 6pm, 1708 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA
January 15, 2026, 6:30pm, 187 Piccadilly, London, UK
April 22–26, 2026, Cambridge, UK
October 2026, Iowa City, IA
Aphorisms on journalism by John Bennet
October 19, 2025
Through a series of fortunate hyperlinks, I recently stumbled across aphorisms on journalism by John Bennet, former New Yorker editor and professor in magazine writing at Columbia Journalism School. In a brief 2022 obit on the Columbia j-school site, Betsy Morais, editor in chief of the Columbia Journalism Review, wrote that Bennet “often spoke in aphorisms.” Those aphorisms are funny, wise, and profane — just like the best newsrooms.
Put the best shit at the end, the second-best shit at the beginning, and all the other shit in between.
The best journalists always overreport.
Don’t rob the reader of feeling emotions by reacting for them (“I started to cry”).
A writer is a guy in the hospital wearing one of those gowns that’s open in the back. An editor is walking behind, making sure that nobody can see his ass.
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The World in a Phrase
A Brief History of the Aphorism - Second Edition
Celebrating the short, witty, philosophical phrases known as aphorisms, this delightful history is an entertaining tour through the wisest and wittiest sayings in the world. This new edition of the New York Times bestseller explores the aphorism in the age of social media, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase.
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