One Lifetime

About the Book

The poems of One Lifetime are presented in the order they were composed. As a consequence, you can approach the book as an autobiography, following the events of Stanley Cratcha’s life from marriage and family, to career and honors, to retirement and aging. But unlike prose autobiography, One Lifetime recounts experiences, seen and felt, with the particular sensitivity of the poet’s sensibility. Moreover, as you read from early years to late, you’ll sense the growing maturity of the verse. The reader is also thus lead through a series of events that entail certain historical highlights as well as intimate expressions of the author’s life experiences.

About the Author

Stanley Cratcha was born in 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, one of five children born to Greek immigrants, who came from Ikaria, a small island in Greece. In 1936 at the age of seven, he was taken to Greece to vacation and meet his grandparents, only to become stranded due to the outbreak of World War II. He did no return to the States until ten years had passed, experiencing the horrific consequences of a war ravaged country. After World War II ended, he returned to Cleveland, re-learned the language and served in the US army. He then married, had two children and obtained a graduate degree in Speech Pathology. He has been writing poetry for many of his 85 years, capturing life experiences and his unique views of the world.