Oulipostands for "l'Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle" or Workshop of Potential Literature. Founded in 1960 by François Le Lionnais and Raymond Queneau, it consists of writers and mathematicians who invent, reinvent and experiment with different types of formal constraints.
"Rats who build the labyrinth from which they plan to escape"As the Oulipans describe themselves. |
|
---|---|
The word Ourvoir was chosen deliberately. The idea of the sewing circle,
with its image of a modest collaboration of skilled individuals.
The idea of “potential literature” is important as well.
The aim of the Oulipo is not to generate literature
but to open up possibilities by introducing new constraints.
This is a process that will open up new languages and ideas.
The French experimental writer and Oulipo member Georges Perec was commissioned in the late 1960s to "use a computer's basic mode of operation as a writing device". Writing within a self-imposed set of constraints aimed at mimicking a computer's internal decision-making process, Perec crafted a short work - the Art and Method of Approaching your Boss to Ask for a Raise - that simulated the speed and tireless repetitiveness of a computer program by abandoning all forms of punctuation as well as the distinction between upper- and lower-case letters. If you have never heard of Oulipo, I hope this brief introduction will be helpful. The Art and Craft of Approaching your Head of Department to Submit a request for a Raise |
|
Having carefully weighed the pros and cons your gird up and make up your mind
to go and see your head of department to ask for a raise, and the adventure begins here.Recounts of an employee's attempt to ask for a salary increase
|
|
For further information, please visit the
official Oulipo website. If you do not speak French, read the presentation of the novel in English. |