The French poems of Michel Mitsakis: neologies of the muse, or phrenopathic neologism?

The Greek writer Michel Mitsakis (1863-1916) rapidly became known for the dynamic nature of his work, but also for his most singular behavior. His text on a village idiot and on the psychiatric hospital in Corfu are major literary works. After a first hospitalization for “dementia praecox” in 1896, after that date he hardly ever wrote in his native language. On the contrary, between 1900 and 1911, he wrote several poems in French scribbled in the margins of a volume of the Iliad, or on pieces of paper which he left on journalists’ desks. These poems are of great literary importance. The implication of the psychopathological process in Michel Mitsakis’s work is also of major interest. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves