We Are All Equal in Ink: Poetry

By H. Christopher Erb

The day after his retirement, Chris suffered a haemorrhagic stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. The language area of his brain was the most affected, depriving him of speech. To regain his most valued skill – to express himself with the written and spoken word – he had to begin again, re-learning words and their meanings, and to write using his left hand. His urge to use language as before was so strong that he was able to recover little by little what the stroke had cruelly taken away. It took two years until his abilities improved enough to be seated in his wheelchair to read and write. He never felt impeded by his disability. With a tape recorder, a notebook, and a typewriter, Chris picked up where he had left off – his inspiration awakened anew.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781649797575

H. Christopher Erb

Since childhood, Chris loved reading and writing, demonstrating a strong affinity for the written word. Born and schooled in Union City, NJ; after earning a BA in English, from Jersey City State College, N. J., he taught for a while and was pursuing his interest in film and photography when he received a job as an art photographer in New York and for the next 24 years, he was commuting to the city and loved the energy and variety that inspired him to write and fill his pockets with notes. We have notebooks with his right hand written poetry. After a debilitating stroke that left him partially paralyzed, he forced himself to make new skills and connections, switching from his right hand to his left. Happy that his brain reconnected functions remembering his earlier work, he was adding freely, inspired lines in many new notebooks.

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About the Author

Since childhood, Chris loved reading and writing, demonstrating a strong affinity for the written word. Born and schooled in Union City, NJ; after earning a BA in English, from Jersey City State College, N. J., he taught for a while and was pursuing his interest in film and photography when he received a job as an art photographer in New York and for the next 24 years, he was commuting to the city and loved the energy and variety that inspired him to write and fill his pockets with notes. We have notebooks with his right hand written poetry. After a debilitating stroke that left him partially paralyzed, he forced himself to make new skills and connections, switching from his right hand to his left. Happy that his brain reconnected functions remembering his earlier work, he was adding freely, inspired lines in many new notebooks.

Dedication

Chris was a thinker. He loved poetry. We lost him while he was preparing this manuscript, but his poetry remained and is a gift.

"All that I did was done for the doing

On the way to understanding solids

A return to the approach

With what continues…"

Copyright Information ©

H. Christopher Erb 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Erb, H. Christopher

We Are All Equal in Ink

ISBN 9781649797551 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781649797575 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781649797568 (Audiobook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900685

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2023

Austin