Imperfect Knowledge

Imperfect Knowledge: Poems New and Selected
By Richard Bronson

In planning a new collection of poems, one needs to ask, “How will this book be organized? Will it have a trajectory or consist of separate sections with different themes. A subject that I have long thought about is our limited knowledge and the concept of progress. What is our capacity to acquire knowledge, as individuals, as a species? We have only our five senses. Our lifespans are short. My medical practice today is quite different from that of my father’s, and working within the scope of this ignorance, one must try to do more good than harm. This book begins with “The Knowledge,” a poem that focuses on the discovery of spermatozoa, in 1683, when new observations were made that challenged current paradigms. It was a time when quality lenses were produced, allowing Leeuwenhoek to create a microscope and look at everything small. During this same period, Galileo designed a telescope and looked outward at the mountains of our moon and beyond. The title poem, “Imperfect Knowledge,” focuses on the author’s father as healer and patient. Other poems address knowledge gained through study, experiences with family, friends, and colleagues. They trace the author’s growing sense of uneasiness, noted explicitly in “First Do No Harm.” Finally, the poems touch on the knowledge we can never acquire in our Journey that ends in the unknowable.

Publisher: Padishah Press; First edition (December 15, 2021)
Language: ‎English
Paperback: ‎107 pages
ISBN:  978-0977640546