How to Do Things with Forms : The Oulipo and Its Inventions

McGill-Queen's University Press

How to Do Things with FormsThe Oulipo and Its Inventions\nAuthor(s): Chris Andrews\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, Canada\nImprint: McGill-Queen's University Press\nISBN-13: 9780228011637, 978-0228011637\nSynopsis\nThe Oulipo (Ouvroir de littrature potentielle, or Workshop for Potential Literature) is a literary think tank that brings together writers and mathematicians. Since 1960, its worldwide influence has refreshed ways of making and thinking about literature.\n\nHow to Do Things with Forms assesses the work of the group, explores where it came from, and envisages its future. Redefining the Oulipos key concept of the constraint in a clear and rigorous way, Chris Andrews weighs the roles of craft and imitation in the groups practice. He highlights the importance of translation for the Oulipos writers, explaining how their new forms convey meanings and how these famously playful authors are also moved by serious concerns. Offering fresh interpretati.