Kafkas ’ Insomnia And Narrative Works

We thank Perciaccante and Coralli for their letter, highlighting the influence that insomnia had on the literary creativity of Franz Kafka [1, 2]. While we agree with the authors that Kafka considered insomnia to be his enemy, his lack of sleep also allowed him to work on his novels and stories at night; ie, the only time of the day when he could get the quietness he needed to write. In addition to the accurate examples given by Perciaccante and Coralli, we would like to add that this sentiment is reflected in a passage from a letter that Kafka wrote to Max Brod in 1922 (Perhaps there are other forms of writing, but I know only this kind; at night, when fear keeps me from sleeping) [3].
Source: Sleep Medicine - Category: Sleep Medicine Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research