[New-Poetry] Aphorisms, the symposium

[jforjames at aol.com]

Sorry, I posted this announcement twice yesterday, but I also want to call your attention to James Geary's blog...
http://www.jamesgeary.com/blog/
His newest book, Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists 
http://www.jamesgeary.com/
alerted me to the fact that poet Alfred Corn has a book of aphorisms called Pith Helmet, Cummington Press 1992. I'll post a few by Corn tomorrow.

Recently, as you can see, Geary posted a few Mina Loy aphorisms...
http://www.jamesgeary.com/blog/?p=137

Finnegan
-----Original Message-----
From: JforJames at aol.com
To: new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
Sent: Sun, 3 Feb 2008 4:47 pm
Subject: [New-Poetry] Re: Aphorisms, the symposium




In a message dated 1/28/2008 5:46:15 AM Eastern Standard Time, gearyjames at googlemail.com writes:

Dear Aphorism Aficionado,

I am sending you this email because we have corresponded at some point in the recent past about aphorisms, and I wanted to alert you to a one-day symposium I've organized on the subject on March 14 in London. Please feel free to pass this email on to others whom you think might be interested.

The symposium—The World in a Phrase: Philosophy and the Aphorism—is sponsored by the Institute of Philosophy and Goodenough College and takes place in the Great Hall of London House at Goodenough College (Mecklenburgh Square, WC1) in London. The aphorism - a world of thought compacted into a single phrase - is the oldest written form of literature on the planet. The aphorism is also the oldest form of philosophical writing, dating back to the earliest moral and cosmological musings of the ancient Egyptians and Chinese. Yet there remains no manner of thinking better suited to contemporary times - and this one-day symposium will explore why. Poets, professors, artists, philosophers, psychologists and comedians (and aphorists!) from Europe and the U.S. will gather to discuss and celebrate the aphorism as a privileged vehicle for grappling with the deepest questions facing our world - and will show how the aphorism is just the ticket if you are tired of ideologies but haven't given up on truth. We have a great line-up of participants; an overview and information about tickets can be found on the Institute of Philosophy's website: 

http://www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk/content.php?id=43&pid=12 <http://www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk/content.php?id=43&amp;pid=12> 


Myself and several other participants are also planning to create a World Aphorism Forum—an international network of aphorists and aphorism lovers—and use the symposium to hold an inaugural meeting. For anyone interested in taking part, we'll meet at the University of London around noon on Saturday March 15, the day after the symposium. If you're interested in becoming part of of the WAF but can't attend the symposium, I will circulate details by email (unless you tell me otherwise) after the event.

On the evening before the symposium—Thursday March 13—I will be doing my "juggling aphorisms" show @ 6:30 p.m. at Waterstones bookshop on Gower Street.
( http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=200006)
How can aphorisms change your life? Find out at James Geary's juggling aphorism show. Geary presents a mix of memoir, literary history, audience participation—and live juggling, with words and balls. Geary roams through the audience, inviting people to randomly pick an aphorism from a globe and read it aloud; Geary then tells something 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! 




A good time, and great aphorisms, are guaranteed for all...

Thanks and best,
James

PS: If you don't wish to receive emails about aphorisms, please let me know by replying to that effect. Alternatively, if you know of others who might be interested in receiving emails about aphorisms, please reply to that effect, too. Thank you






 

 

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