The End of Oulipo? : An Attempt to Exhaust a Movement

The Oulipo, founded in 1960s, is a group of writers and mathematicians which seeks to create literature using constrained experimental writing techniques such as palindromes, lipograms and snowballs. A lipogram is writing that excludes one or more letters. A snowball is a poem in which each line is a single word, and each successive word is one letter longer. The Oulipo group celebrated its fiftieth birthday in 2010, and as it enters its sixth decade, its members, fans and critics are all wondering: where can it go from here? In two long essays Scott Esposito and Lauren Elkin consider Oulipo's strengths, weaknesses, and impact on today's experimental literature. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 107-109). Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Part 1. Eight Glances Past Georges Perec -- Reality -- Truthism -- Negation -- Plagiarism -- Remainder -- Exhaustion -- Experiments -- Perception Is Never Finished -- Part 2. Oulipo Lite -- 69 Theses, Notes, And Observations On Why Hervé Le Tellier Matters -- Oulipo And Sexism -- Desire And Decline -- Put Love In The Title -- Enough About Stereotypes -- Love And Exhaustion -- How Would You Like Your Oulipo? -- A By No Means Exhaustive History Of The Oulipo -- Further Reading. Lauren Elkin And Scott Esposito. Also Published In Washington, Usa. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 107-109). As The Oulipo enters its sixth decade, its members, fans and critics are wondering: where can it go from here?

"The Oulipo celebrated its fiftieth birthday in 2010, and as it enters its sixth decade, its members, fans and critics are all wondering: where can it go from here? In two long essays Scott Esposito and Lauren Elkin consider Oulipo's strengths, weaknesses, and impact on today's experimental literature."-- Provided by publisher The Oulipo celebrated its fiftieth birthday in 2010, and as it enters its sixth decade, its members, fans and critics are all wondering: where can it go from here? In two long essays, the authors consider Oulipo's strengths, weaknesses, and impact on today's experimental literature Lauren Elkin is a Paris-based critic and novelist; her essays on books and culture have appeared in many publications, including The Guardian