Stroke by Stroke

“Michaux is the poet laureate of our insomnia.”—Anatole Broyard, The New York Times Book Review

“Michaux travels via his languages: lines, words, colors, silences, rhythms. And he does not hesitate to break the back of a word…. In order to arrive: where? At that nowhere that is here, there, and everywhere.”—Octavio Paz

A pairing of two of Henri Michaux’s most contemplative texts—Stroke by Stroke (Par des traits, 1984) and Grasp (Saisir, 1979)—written toward the end of his life. The author’s ink drawings accompany his poetic exploration of animals, insects, language, and human nature. Explosive, measured accounts of men and beasts.

An exploration of the terrain between word and image, the sacred and the earthly, thought and passion.

New York Times Book Review

Michaux is the poet laureate of our insomnia.

Belgian-born French poet, journalist, and painter, Henri Michaux's (1899-1984) body of work includes poetry, travelogues, and art criticism. Michaux was widely traveled; his journeys brought him to North and South America, Africa, India, and China. Michaux gained particular fame for his writing in the 1940s, when his work drew interest from Andre Gide, Lawrence Durrell, and Octavio Paz, among others. Richard Sieburth's translations include Friedrich Holderlin's Hymns and Fragments, Walter Benjamin's Moscow Diary, Gerard de Nerval's Selected Writings, and Henri Michaux's Emergences/Resurgences. His English edition of the Nerval won the 2000 PEN Book-of-the-Month-Club Translation Prize.