"The world's humour, in its best and greatest sense, is perhaps the highest product of our civilization." Stephen Leacock opens his essay with this grand claim, then proceeds to dissect exactly how jokes fail, why timing matters, and what separates genuine wit from forced cleverness. It's a master humorist examining his own craft—part manual, part meditation.

Leacock writes with the authority of someone who spent decades making people laugh, but his real insight comes from understanding the gap between intention and effect. He's remarkably honest about the mechanics of failed humor, the agony of the joke that lands wrong, the peculiar cruelty of laughter withheld. At its core, this is an essay about human connection—how we reach each other through shared amusement, and what happens when that connection breaks. Brief, wise, and quietly funny throughout.

Eris Gems are small pamphlets that capture brilliant ideas in their most distilled form—arguments substantial enough to challenge, compact enough to finish in a single sitting. Each pamphlet presents a single thesis from contemporary thinkers. Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was a distinguished political scientist who became renowned for his literary parodies and satirical writings. His essays and short stories have ensured that he remains a major figure in the history of Canadian literature.

By Stephen Leacock, 26 pages, published by Eris Editions