A Good Fight is Hard to Find
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A GOOD FIGHT IS HARD TO FIND
by Ronnie Ferguson
A Good Fight is Hard to Find,
the second book in the Selfies series, chronicles the intertwined
lives of two boys. With insight, humor, depth, and raw honesty, Ferguson crafts
a narrative poem in six parts, recounting the mischief and follies of youth,
and how these things come to form the contemplative, tender core of a man. Building upon When I Was a Fire, the poignant
first installment, A Good Fight is Hard to Find is also sure
to please and move readers as a stand-alone work, a tale of grit and sincerity
with skillful lines to savor on every page.
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From the opening bell, Ronnie Ferguson’s A Good Fight is Hard to Find pulls no punches, landing bruising body shots to the heart and stiff uppercuts to anyone who thinks they can navigate the world with a stiff upper lip. With deft turns of phrase that flutter and jab, these narratives hammer away at unvarnished truths, offering visceral and raw honesty that leaves us unsteady on our feet. It can feel bleak to live with fists always at the ready, but perhaps bleaker still, to throw in the towel and believe nothing can ever be won. Ferguson’s poetry will make you flinch in the best possible way, ducking and weaving with wonder, struggling to stay upright, hoping you won’t be counted out without knowing, at last, what it feels like to see some stars.
Jeff
Kass, author of Teacher/Pizza
Guy, a 2020 Michigan Notable Book
In A Good Fight is Hard to Find, Ronnie Ferguson continues his tender meditation on childhood, reminding us that however difficult a life might be, the long arms of art can reach through time, allowing us to embrace those who are gone. There is a quiet power in this lucid work, which showcases the mind and the heart revisiting moments of grit and vulnerability. In the intersection of what is brutal and what is gentle, we hear Ferguson thinking about the various ways affection can be both disguised and expressed. As he writes, “i found its truth / to be greater than any memory.”
In A Good Fight is Hard to Find, Ronnie Ferguson continues his tender meditation on childhood, reminding us that however difficult a life might be, the long arms of art can reach through time, allowing us to embrace those who are gone. There is a quiet power in this lucid work, which showcases the mind and the heart revisiting moments of grit and vulnerability. In the intersection of what is brutal and what is gentle, we hear Ferguson thinking about the various ways affection can be both disguised and expressed. As he writes, “i found its truth / to be greater than any memory.”
Cindy Hunter Morgan, author of Harborless and Far
Company