Stroke by Stroke

Stroke by Stroke is a pairing of two of Henri Michaux’s most suggestive texts, Par des traits (Stroke by Stroke, 1984) and Saisir (Grasp, 1979), written toward the end of his life. The author’s idiogrammic ink drawings accompany his poetic explorations of animals, humans, and the origins of language. These texts work at the borders of word and image, interior and exterior, sacred and mundane. In a series of verbal/pictorial gestures at once explosive and contemplative, Michaux emerges at his most Zen.

With original ink drawings by Henri Michaux.