Impossible Word: Toward a Poetics of Aphasia

I remember first learning of the concept oh aphasia from the late Dr. Oliver Sacks.

The essay "Recalled to Life" in his book "The Mind’s Eye" or the chapter about music therapy for aphasia from his book "Musicophilia".

I remember reading transfixed how someone could loose the ability to find the right word for specific objects. Or loose the understanding of what objects were represented by the words someone hears/reads.

> What is aphasia?

> Imagine knowing what you want to say, but your brain refuses to let you utter even the simplest word. Or imagine listening to your friends and family and having no idea what their words mean. Sometimes the ability to read or write is affected, too. [1]

[1]: https://www.oliversacks.com/words-words-words/

I cannot recommend the books of Oliver Sacks enough. He is such a warm writer, with such a profund understanding of how to transport individual stories so that readers can understand and empathize.

As a short get to know maybe a TED talk [2] can do.

[2]: https://www.ted.com/talks/oliver_sacks_what_hallucination_re...