Chapbook Written by Poets with Aphasia

words by barbara arnold photo by sawyer hoff

BRUCE WILLIS. SHARON STONE. GABBY GIFFORDS. TRACY MORGAN. These are the names of famous people – an actor recently diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that affects the ability to express and understand written and spoken word; an actress who survived a stroke, a retired politician with aphasia after an assassination attempt, and a stand-up comedian who experienced a traumatic brain injury after a semi-truck crashed into his tour bus.

Rochelle M. Anderson, Laurel Blackstone, Douglas Kidd, Lisa Monopoli, Audrey Nelson, Sheree Nelson, and Kathryn Paulson. These are the names of the Chippewa Valley’s Thursday Night Poets group who just happen to have aphasia or brain injuries and began meeting in the middle of the pandemic and found their voice writing poems about their experiences.

The words were there in their brain, and they just couldn’t get them out … until now … overflowing. The result is a 54-page chapbook of poems titled I don’t think I did this right. The title came from their first sessions together, according to world-renowned Los Angeles-based poet Brendan Constantine, who led the group.

He started poetry workshops for people with aphasia in 2017 and is known for posting photos on his Instagram account as writing prompts.