Harlan Ellison speaks from his hospital room

As has been widely reported (by the Los Angeles Times, among others), Harlan Ellison suffered a stroke two weeks ago that left his right arm and leg paralyzed. His mind was unaffected and he’s entertained countless visitors, famous and infamous, from his hospital bed, fielding phone calls from long-distance well wishers.

In the two weeks since “the episode,” he’s nearly recovered the full use of the affected limbs and–as of my visit on Thursday, the 23rd of October–has set up his portable typewriter and returned to work. I’ve visited Harlan four times and found his dexterity much improved on each subsequent visit.

The following message was recorded during my visit.

I’ve been collecting all the messages sent to the ellison.editor@gmail.com address to show Harlan when he’s released from the hospital. He now claims he’s wasted time becoming “beloved” when he could have been the next Jack the Ripper or Attila the Hun.