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Signposts to Elsewhere
In homage to a tradition advanced by philosophers and pundits from Confucius to Oscar Wilde to Dr. Seuss, Jane Street Press is pleased to release the electronic version of Signposts to a book of aphorisms & other tailored thoughts, by Egyptian-Lebanese author Yahia Lababidi. Aphorisms, by the author’s own definition, are ‘complete fragments.’ Witty, resonant, and precise, they capture the contradictory nature of human truths and sentiments, reflecting ‘the soul’s dialogue with itself.’
Signposts to Elsewhere is sorbet sharp, always leaving the palate clean for another, and another…
Mark Simpson, The Independent (UK) ‘Books of the Year,’ 2008
Signposts to Elsewhere is a succulent, stunning collection of images and thoughts more well-lit than the old swinging torches of the lamplighters. I find myself pausing everywhere among these wisdoms, wondering why the world stumbles and staggers through such a dark and greedy time when there are people alive with such keen, caring insight. This is a book to live with for the long run, to return to again and again, as one returns to a favorite corner for reading and thinking. If Yahia Samir Lababidi were in charge of a country, I would want to live there.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Wisdom for Lababidi is on the move, a matter of suppleness rather than rigor, of insights and angles rather than rules... As intense as his conversation with himself is, it is also kind, tolerant of his own limits and of ours… I give you that expert self-listener, that excellent writer, Yahia Lababidi.
James Richardson (from the Foreword)
Lababidi knows that fables and metaphors overcome resistance more readily than facts and position papers. His half smile becomes our own, changing our self-estimate, and then—who knows?—the choices we make as well.
Alfred Corn
Yahia Lababidi's aphorisms are elegant, thoughtful and wise, written proof that the art of the aphorism is still very much alive.
James Geary, author of Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists
Signposts to Elsewhere is sorbet sharp, always leaving the palate clean for another, and another…
Mark Simpson, The Independent (UK) ‘Books of the Year,’ 2008
Signposts to Elsewhere is a succulent, stunning collection of images and thoughts more well-lit than the old swinging torches of the lamplighters. I find myself pausing everywhere among these wisdoms, wondering why the world stumbles and staggers through such a dark and greedy time when there are people alive with such keen, caring insight. This is a book to live with for the long run, to return to again and again, as one returns to a favorite corner for reading and thinking. If Yahia Samir Lababidi were in charge of a country, I would want to live there.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Wisdom for Lababidi is on the move, a matter of suppleness rather than rigor, of insights and angles rather than rules... As intense as his conversation with himself is, it is also kind, tolerant of his own limits and of ours… I give you that expert self-listener, that excellent writer, Yahia Lababidi.
James Richardson (from the Foreword)
Lababidi knows that fables and metaphors overcome resistance more readily than facts and position papers. His half smile becomes our own, changing our self-estimate, and then—who knows?—the choices we make as well.
Alfred Corn
Yahia Lababidi's aphorisms are elegant, thoughtful and wise, written proof that the art of the aphorism is still very much alive.
James Geary, author of Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists
- GenresPoetry
149 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Yahia Lababidi
25 books102 followersYahia Lababidi is an Arab-American writer of Palestinian heritage and the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, aphorisms, essays, and conversations. His work places Islamic mysticism in conversation with Western philosophy, exploring enduring questions of love, conscience, suffering, and spiritual awakening.
His forthcoming book Wherever You Are: Essays from East to West (Ayin Press, 2026) is now available for pre-order. A cross-cultural meditation on art, faith, and moral imagination, it moves between figures such as Nietzsche, Kafka, Rumi, Ghazali, and the poets of Palestine.
Recent books include On the Contrary: Wilde and Nietzsche (Fomite Press, 2025), a playful meditation on two kindred contrarians, and What Remains to Be Said (Wild Goose Publications, 2025), a gathering of aphorisms written across three decades. Poetry from his collection Palestine Wail (Daraja Press, 2024) was twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and translated into multiple languages.
Lababidi’s writing has appeared in Liberties, Salmagundi, The Threepenny Review, Sojourners, World Literature Today, The New Arab, and DAWN, and has been featured on PBS NewsHour, NPR, and On Being. A five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, he has spoken at Oxford University and served as a juror for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the PEN/Heim Translation Fund.
His work has been translated into numerous languages and read at literary festivals across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and India.
His forthcoming book Wherever You Are: Essays from East to West (Ayin Press, 2026) is now available for pre-order. A cross-cultural meditation on art, faith, and moral imagination, it moves between figures such as Nietzsche, Kafka, Rumi, Ghazali, and the poets of Palestine.
Recent books include On the Contrary: Wilde and Nietzsche (Fomite Press, 2025), a playful meditation on two kindred contrarians, and What Remains to Be Said (Wild Goose Publications, 2025), a gathering of aphorisms written across three decades. Poetry from his collection Palestine Wail (Daraja Press, 2024) was twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and translated into multiple languages.
Lababidi’s writing has appeared in Liberties, Salmagundi, The Threepenny Review, Sojourners, World Literature Today, The New Arab, and DAWN, and has been featured on PBS NewsHour, NPR, and On Being. A five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, he has spoken at Oxford University and served as a juror for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the PEN/Heim Translation Fund.
His work has been translated into numerous languages and read at literary festivals across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and India.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 23, 2023
Mr. Lababidi is a multi-talented writer and poet. This reader can compare his works to those of Nietzsche; which is to say his poetry and writings deal with some serious thoughts. Mr. Lababidi composes thoughts on faith, death, art and love to name of few. Whereas we disagree on politics, that in no way prevents me from enjoying his work and poetry. I am now reading his "Barely There, Short Poems."
October 9, 2017
Aphorisms are funny things. Somehow it feels wrong to read them at all at once. We are used to hearing them predicated by the appropriate circumstance. It is doubly confusing to think of them being "created", unless by Rumi or Ben Franklin. I suppose the Dali Lama could do it if he was feeling clever.
But that is just what the author has done, and it largely works. He is obviously a thoughtful person living an internal love triangle of poetry, philosophy and wit. I read it over a weekend here and there. It is short, but like a box of assorted chocolates, too many destroys your appetite for them. However, in the same way, you seem to come to the end of the box sooner than you'd planned.
A few teasers:
- With enigmatic clarity, Life gives us a different answer each time we ask her the same question.
- A good listener is one who helps us overhear ourselves.
- Tattoo: graffiti on a masterpiece.
But that is just what the author has done, and it largely works. He is obviously a thoughtful person living an internal love triangle of poetry, philosophy and wit. I read it over a weekend here and there. It is short, but like a box of assorted chocolates, too many destroys your appetite for them. However, in the same way, you seem to come to the end of the box sooner than you'd planned.
A few teasers:
- With enigmatic clarity, Life gives us a different answer each time we ask her the same question.
- A good listener is one who helps us overhear ourselves.
- Tattoo: graffiti on a masterpiece.
June 9, 2023
Yahia Lababidi has a gift for writing aphorisms. He dances gracefully with the hard truths, has an intuitive sense of their many faces and follows their steps unselfconsciously, with style. I'll be reading and rereading these aphorisms for a long time...for their quiet humor and compassion, wisdom, and companionship.
May 16, 2017
Indeed, when someone looks back, all the dots would just connect. Not being a scientist allows me to observe things with emotions and imagination. Decade ago, I sank to Walter Benjamin and Susan Sontag, condemning wars. If there is no wars, Walter Benjamin could finish his book only contains quotations, I hope. Decade later, fortunate enough to come across Yahia Lababidi's aphorism. Wonderful, it's wonderful.
Aphorism, "the complete fragment", as the aphorist puts it, lives by its own. Each aphorism holds up a world, full of meaning, yet concise. In the future, I'd rather live in a house built by words. But will that be heavy for me to breathe? Or it will be the ultimate freedom? No idea.
The book definitely wroth re-reading. Only by reading it, it gives a meditative feeling, with soul, with thoughts.
I highly recommend this book.
Aphorism, "the complete fragment", as the aphorist puts it, lives by its own. Each aphorism holds up a world, full of meaning, yet concise. In the future, I'd rather live in a house built by words. But will that be heavy for me to breathe? Or it will be the ultimate freedom? No idea.
The book definitely wroth re-reading. Only by reading it, it gives a meditative feeling, with soul, with thoughts.
I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews