Good Question

by Sally Fisher

Poetry. Sally Fisher's poems speak for the value of unknowing. John Keats said that what we all need is a quality (Shakespeare had it) he called "negative capability"—the capacity to live in uncertainty. In fact, this collection savors the pleasures of unknowing, reminding us that Keats called "reaching after fact and reason" an "irritable habit." Doubt can be comic; certainty humorless. Doubt is liberating; certainty slams doors. Everyday failure invites improvisation. "A good question will outlive every one of its answers." A short central section presents ghazal-related poems inspired by the work of Urdu poet Ghalib. The ghazal tends to leave connections unspecified, making it an excellent vehicle for exploring uncertainty. Influence of the ghazal form echoes throughout the book.

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2015