The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

HENRI MICHAUX

Love
facecard troublesome to play

Queens Kings and Jacks
set o√ in red and black
frolic to an old air
—keith waldrop

Henri Michaux 1899–1984

namur, belgium

A

painter, journalist and poet, the reclusive Michaux became one of

France’s foremost writers. André Gide, in his article ‘‘Discovering

Henri Michaux’’ (1941), played a large part in publicizing his work. For

an author accustomed to publishing under a pseudonym, such exposure proved

unnerving. Michaux moved to Paris in 1923 and soon afterward began to paint

and contribute to avant-garde reviews. He traveled widely throughout North and

South America, Asia, and Africa, documenting his trips in several travelogues.

He also experimented with mescaline; his writings, and the drawings that accom-

pany them, explored exaltation and agony as states induced by the drug. In 1965

he refused to accept the Grand Prix National des Lettres in protest against the

practice of awarding such prizes. Principal works: Un Certain Plume, 1930; Loin-

tain intérieur, 1938; Peintures, 1939; Épreuves, exorcismes, 1940–1944; Apparitions,

1946; La Vie dans les plis, 1949; Passages, 1950; Mouvements, 1952; Misérable Mira-

cle, 1956; Paix dans les brisements, 1959; Émergences-resurgences, 1972; En rêvant à

partir de peintures énigmatiques, 1972; A√rontements, 1986.