LIVE from the NYPL: James Geary Juggles Aphorisms as Flash Rosenberg Performs Quote Repair

October 9, 2007

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How can aphorisms change your life?

Find out when James Geary brings his juggling aphorism show yes real live juggling of words and balls to LIVE from the NYPL. Geary  whose new book is Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists has been obsessed by aphorisms since he was eight years old. For almost 40 years, he's been collecting them, writing about them, and even translating them. The result is Geary's Guide, the most comprehensive encyclopedia of aphorisms ever written.

Geary will present a mix of memoir, literary history, audience participation?live juggling, with words and balls. Audience members are invited to randomly pick an aphorism from a globe and read it aloud; Geary then tells about that aphorism and the person who wrote it, weaving in personal and historical anecdote. Geary's authors range from Aristotle and Muhammad Ali to Mae West and the Zen masters, and some 350 aphorists in between, from the beginnings of the aphorism in ancient Egypt and China right up to the present day. There are also several blank strips of paper in the globe. If an audience member draws one of these, they can name any theme and Geary must cite a related aphorism on the spot. If he fails, they get a free copy of the book!

"Quote Repair"

Do your proverbs need pruning?

 

Upon entering, LIVE audience members are invited to contribute their favorite quotations for "A Drawing for a Drawing" by LIVE artist-in-residence Flash Rosenberg. Selected quotations will be drawn onstage as part of a performed drawing/talk warm-up offering tips for Quote Repair.

About James Geary

James Geary is the author of The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism which has been translated into Italian, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Geary is editor-at-large with Ode and writes for Popular Science, Salon, and The Huffington Post. He is the former Europe editor for Time and author of The Body Electric: An Anatomy of the New Bionic Senses. His latest book is Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists

 

 

 

 

About Flash Rosenberg

Flash Rosenberg uses photos, drawings, writings, and performances to deliver pith, humor, and memories. Her public art mischief has aired daily on public radio and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, the Forward, The Funny Times and Lilith. She is a freelance photographer and currently Artist-in-Residence for LIVE from the NYPL. For the past four seasons, Flash Rosenberg has made a drawing of each LIVE conversation. A drawing of the evening along with drawings from past LIVE conversations will be on display.