On Thursday, March 3, Dr. Amy Wright facilitated an interactive discussion on the importance and art of asking great questions.
Wright is the current chairholder for the Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric and Science. She is a professor and coordinator of the creative writing program at Austin Peay State University and has studied the art of asking generative questions for over 25 years.
Her Thursday night talk centered on defining a “great” question.
“The best questions require a little creative thinking,” she said, before asking audience members what qualities they thought made a great question.
Some responses were “uncomfortable,” “tornadic,” “investigative,” and “self-reflective.”
Wright’s definition of a “great” question boils down to seven main points. Great questions do one or more of the following: upset or challenge the known; alchemize understanding by instigating reactions and responses; redistribute authority by including many different people in the conversation; embed silence like a resting note so as to allow parties to be receptive to answers; evolve knowledge, culture, identity and democracy; test what we can bear to learn; question the biases and beliefs of the asker.
“Questions are at the heart of all books,” she said.
Later, she explained that what she meant by this was that questions are the catalysts and seeds of every act of self-expression. This includes books, movies, dances, speeches and career paths.
Questions that have the above qualities can often be uncomfortable for one or more of the parties involved. However, they are essential for growing in our understanding of ourselves and others.
During her talk, Wright spoke about her most recent publication, “Paper Concert,” in which she recounts her conversations with thinkers and people from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise.
Wright said that she hopes that her book “will inspire people to talk to people who aren’t like them and that might even make them question their beliefs or identities a little bit, because that’s actually how we grow.”
“I hope that people will ask questions of people that they wouldn’t normally ask,” said Wright, “And that they’ll have conversations and inspire dialogues that reach outside of their comfort zones.”
This semester Wright is teaching two classes at ETSU while she continues to review newly published books and articles. She is also working on a prose translation of Emily Dickinson’s works. Her most recent book, “Paper Concert,” can be found on sarabandebooks.org.
Wright will also be presenting at the Appalachian Sublime on Monday, March 28. Additionally, she will be speaking on Tuesday, April 12, at the ETSU Literary Festival on the topic of translating Emily Dickinson’s poems into prose.
