Henri Michaux
Henri Michaux (French: [ɑ̃ʁi miʃo]; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French experimental poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York had shows of his work in 1978 (see below, Visual Arts). His autobiographical texts that chronicle his psychedelic experiments with LSD and mescaline include Miserable Miracle and The Major Ordeals of the Mind and the Countless Minor Ones.
Henri Michaux
- Born
- 1899.
- Died
- 1984.
- Nationality
- France and Belgium.
- Occupation
- painter, poet, writer, illustrator, photographer and draftsperson.
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Henri Michaux (French: [ɑ̃ʁi miʃo]; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French experimental poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York had shows of his work in 1978 (see below, Visual Arts). His autobiographical texts that chronicle his psychedelic experiments with LSD and mescaline include Miserable Miracle and The Major Ordeals of the Mind and the Countless Minor Ones.
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Note VALÉORINE
Henri Michaux (1899–1984) was a draftsperson, illustrator and painter, among other activities, of Belgian and French nationality. The draftsperson was born Henri Eugène Marie Michaux in Namur and died in 14th arrondissement of Paris. Henri Michaux was educated at Free University of Brussels.
Languages used include French. Honours include Grand prix national des Lettres.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Travels
Travels
He is recognised for his idiosyncratic travelogues and books of art criticism. Michaux is also known for his stories about Plume – "a peaceable man" – one of the most unenterprising heroes in literature, a character subject to many misfortunes. His poetic works have often been republished in France, where they are studied along with significant poets of French literature. In 1955 he became a citizen of France, and he lived the rest of his life there. He became a friend of Romanian pessimist philosopher Emil Cioran around the same time, along with other literary luminaries in France. In 1965 he won the grand prix national des Lettres, which he refused to accept, as he did every honor he was accorded in his life.
In 1930 and 1931, Michaux visited Japan, China and India. The result of this trip was the book A Barbarian in Asia. Asian culture became one of his biggest influences. The philosophy of Buddhism and calligraphy later became principal subjects of many of his poems and inspired many of his drawings. He also visited Ecuador and published a travelogue book of the same name. His travels across the Americas finished in Brazil in 1939, and he stayed there for two years.
Adaptations
Adaptations
Japanese animator Ryo Orikasa adapted Michaux's poetry for the 2023 short film Miserable Miracle, winner of the top animated short prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Works
Works
His complete works were published by Gallimard in three volumes of the Pléiade series, 1998–2004. Cas de folie circulaire (1922) Les Rêves et la Jambe (1923) Fables des origines (Disque vert, 1923) Qui je fus (1927). Who I Was Mes propriétés (Fourcade, 1929). My Properties La Jetée (1929) Ecuador (1929). Ecuador: A Travel Journal, trans. Robin Magowan (1970) Un certain Plume (Editions du Carrefour, 1930; revised 1938 and 1963 as Plume). A Certain Plume, trans. Richard Sieburth (New York Review Books, 2018) Un barbare en Asie (1933; revised 1945). A Barbarian in Asia, trans. Sylvia Beach (1949) La nuit remue (1935). The Night Moves Voyage en Grande Garabagne (1936). Voyage to Great Garaban La Ralentie (1937) Plume précédé de Lointain Intérieur (1938; revised 1963). Plume preceded by Faraway Within. 1963 edition includes the "Postface" Peintures (GLM, 1939). Paintings Au pays de la magie (1941). In the Land of Magic Arbres des tropiques (1942) Épreuves, Exorcismes: 1940-1944 (1945). Ordeals, Exorcisms: 1940-1944 Ici, Poddema (1946) Peintures et dessins (Le point du jour, 1946) Meidosems (Le point du jour, 1948). Meidosems: Poems and Lithographs, trans. Elizabeth R. Jackson (1992) Nous deux encore (10 Lambert, 1948) Poésie pour pouvoir (René Drouin, 1949) Passages (1950) Mouvements (recueil) (1952) Face aux verrous (1954) Misérable Miracle (La mescaline) (1956). Miserable Miracle, trans. Louise Varèse (1963) L'Infini turbulent (1957). Infinite Turbulence, trans. Michael Fineberg (1975) Paix dans les brisements (1959) Connaissance par les gouffres (1961). Light Through Darkness, trans. Haakon Chevalier (1964) Vents et Poussières (1962) Désagrégation (1965) Les Grandes Épreuves de l'esprit et les innombrables petites (1966). The Major Ordeals of the Mind, trans. Richard Howard (1974) Vers la complétude (Saisie et Dessaisies) (GLM, 1966) Façons d'endormi, façons d'éveillé (1969). Ways of Sleepers, Ways of Wakers Poteaux d'angle (1971). Tent Posts, trans. Lynn Hoggard (1997) En rêvant à partir de peintures énigmatiques (Fata Morgana, 1972). Dreams Like Enigmatic Paintings, trans. Michael Eales (2018) Émergences, Résurgences (Skira, 1972). Emergences/Resurgences, trans. Richard Sieburth (Skira, 2000) Bras cassé (Fata Morgana, 1973) Moments, traversées du temps (1973). Moments, Crossings of Time Quand tombent les toits (1973) Par la voie des rythmes (Fata Morgana, 1974) Idéogrammes en Chine (Fata Morgana, 1975). Ideograms in China, trans. Gustaf Sobin (2002) Coups d'arrêt (1975) Face à ce qui se dérobe (1976) Les ravagés (Fata Morgana, 1976) Jours de silence (Fata Morgana, 1978) Saisir (Fata Morgana, 1979) Une voie pour l'insubordination (Fata Morgana, 1980) Affrontements (Fata Morgana, 1981) Chemins cherchés, chemins perdus, transgressions (1982). Paths Looked For, Paths Lost, Transgressions Les commencements (Fata Morgana, 1983) Le jardin exalté (Fata Morgana, 1983) Par surprise (Fata Morgana, 1983). By Surprise, trans. Randolph Hough (1987) Par des traits (Fata Morgana, 1984) Déplacements, Dégagements (1985; posthumous). Spaced, Displaced, trans. David and Helen Constantine (1992) Rencontres (with Paolo Marinotti) (1991; posthumous) Jeux d'encre. Trajet Zao Wou-Ki (1993; posthumous) En songeant à l'avenir (1994; posthumous) J'excuserais une assemblée anonyme... (1994; posthumous) À distance (Mercure de France, 1997; posthumous) Sitôt lus. Lettres à Franz Hellens. 1922-1952 (Fayard, 1999; posthumous) Paul Klee (Fata Morgana, 2012; posthumous) Donc c'est non, lettres réunies, ed. Jean-Luc Outers (Gallimard, 2016; posthumous) Coups d'arrêt suivi d’Ineffable vide (Éditions Unes, 2018; posthumous)
Selections prepared by Michaux
Selections prepared by Michaux
L'Espace du dedans (1944; revised and expanded in 1966). Selected Writings: The Space Within, partial translation by Richard Ellmann (New Directions, 1951; reprinted in 1968). Translation contains selections from: Qui je fus, Ecuador, Mes propriétés, Un certain Plume, La nuit remue, Voyage en Grande Garabagne, Lointain intérieur, Peintures, and Au pays de la magie, with "The March into the Tunnel" added from Épreuves, Exorcismes. Ailleurs (1948). Compiles Voyage en Grande Garabagne (1936), Au pays de la magie (1941) and Ici, Poddema (1946) La Vie dans les plis (1949). Life in the Folds, trans. Darren Jackson (2016). Compiles Liberté d'action (1945), Apparitions (1946), Meidosems (illustrated edition, 1948), Lieux inexprimables (1947) and Vieillesse de Pollagoras (previously unpublished) L'Espace du dedans (second edition, 1966). Revised and expanded with selections from Épreuves, exorcismes, La vie dans les plis, Passages, Lecture, Face aux verrous, Misérable miracle, and Paix dans les brisements.
Compilations in English
Compilations in English
Selected Writings: The Space Within, partial translation by Richard Ellmann (New Directions, 1951; reprinted in 1968) Darkness Moves: An Henri Michaux Anthology, 1927-1984, trans. and ed. David Ball (University of California Press, 1994) Michaux, trans. Teo Savory (Unicorn Press, 1967) Henri Michaux: A Selection, trans. Michael Fineberg (1979) Someone Wants to Steal My Name and Other Poems, ed. Nin Andrews (2004) Stroke by Stroke, trans. Richard Sieburth (2006). Compiles Saisir (1979) and Par des traits (1984) By Surprise, trans. Randolph Hough (Hanuman Books, 1987) Toward Totality & Selected Works, 1929–1973, trans. Louise Landes-Levi (Shivastan, 2006) Thousand Times Broken: Three Books, trans. Gillian Conoley (City Lights, 2014). Compiles 400 Men on the Cross, "Peace in the Breaking", and Watchtowers on Targets Life in the Folds, trans. Darren Jackson (2016) Storms Under the Skin: Selected Poems, 1927-1954, trans. Jane Draycott (Two Rivers Press, 2017)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1899
Henri Michaux born at Namur.
1984
Henri Michaux died at 14th arrondissement of Paris.
Visual arts
Michaux was a visual artist of some originality, associated with the Tachiste movement in the 1940s and 50s, although that describes only a small part of his artistic achievement—for example, his hallucinatory representations of faces and heads. His work often makes use of dense, suggestively gestural strokes that incorporate elements of calligraphy, asemic writing, and abstract expressionism. The Museum of Modern Art in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum in New York both had shows of his work in 1978.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q160780: Henri Michaux
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Henri Michaux”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1212395506, Henri Michaux.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1."His work is without equal in the literature of our time." Jose Luis Borges, Darkness Moves: An Henri Michaux Anthology 1927-1984, p. ix.
- 2.Paz, Octavio. Journeys into the Abyss. The Guardian. 9 August 2002.
- 3.John T. Hamilton, "France/Kafka: An Author in Theory" - New Directions in German Studies (Bloomsbury Academic 2023; London/New York) p. 72; .
- 4.Henri Michaux, French painter and poet.
- 5.Emil Cioran – A Century of Writers (1999) Türkçe Altyazılı – YouTube. YouTube. 13 October 2015.
- 6.Henri Michaux's Thousand Times Broken.
- 7.A Barbarian in Asia.
- 8.A Barbarian in Asia. 31 May 2016.
- 9.The World of Michaux.
- 10.Ecuador.
- 11.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Henri Michaux: Exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, September 7 until October 15, 1978. 1978. 4358508.
- 12.Ramin Zahed, "Poetry in Motion: Ryo Orikasa’s ‘Miserable Miracle’ Animates the Musings of Henri Michaux". Animation Magazine, November 7, 2023.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 10
- Bäckström, Per. Enhet i mångfalden. Henri Michaux och det groteska (Unity in the Plenitude. Henri Michaux and the Grotesque), Lund: Ellerström, 2005.
- Bäckström, Per. Le Grotesque dans l’œuvre d’Henri Michaux. Qui cache son fou, meurt sans voix, Paris: L’Harmattan, 2007.
- Bellour, Raymond. Les Cahiers De L'Herne: Henri Michaux. Paris: Minard, 1966.
- Bellour, Raymond. Henri Michaux. Paris: Gallimard, 1986.
- Bellour, Raymond. Lire Michaux. Paris: Gallimard, 2011.
- Bowie, Malcolm. Henri Michaux: A Study of His Literary Works. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.
- C L Campos, "Michaux, Henri" in Anthony Thorlby (ed). The Penguin Companion to Literature. Penguin Books. 1969. Volume 2 (European Literature). Page 534.
- Müller-Yao, Marguerite Hui. Der Einfluß der Kunst der chinesischen Kalligraphie auf die westliche informelle Malerei, Diss. Bonn, Köln 1985.
- Müller-Yao, Marguerite. "Informelle Malerei und chinesische Kalligrafie", in: Informel, Begegnung und Wandel. (hrsg von Heinz Althöfer, Schriftenreihe des Museums am Ostwall; Bd. 2), Dortmund 2002. .
- Wedewer, Rolf. Die Malerei des Informel. Weltverlust und Ich-Behauptung, Deutscher Kunstverlag, München, 2007. .
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1212395506, Henri Michaux.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q160780: Henri MichauxWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Henri GervexIllustrator
- Henri JulienIllustrator
- Henri LouxIllustrator
- Henri MeyerIllustrator
- Henri PieckIllustrator
- Henri PilleIllustrator
- Henri Théophile HildibrandIllustrator
- Henri ThirietIllustrator
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