Oulipo

[close] Oulipo (French pronunciation: ​[ulipo], short for French: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: "workshop of potential literature") is a loose gathering of (mainly) French-speaking writers and mathematicians who seek to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais. Other notable members have included novelists Georges Perec and Italo Calvino, poets Oskar Pastior, Jean Lescure and poet/mathematician Jacques Roubaud. The group defines the term littérature potentielle as (rough translation): "the seeking of new structures and patterns which may be used by writers in any way they enjoy."

[close] Groupe francophone où nous pouvons partager des exercices littéraires à base de contraintes, pour le plaisir de jouer ensemble avec les mots et de partager nos productions.

[close] This group is for discussion of irrealist literature and other experimental fiction of an Oulipo-like nature. It's a space where travellers of the intellect can stay a while, escaping the morrases and mollasses of the middlebrow and mainstream. Think Borges, Kafka, Calvino and Perec. Think Sebald, Ishiguro, Cortazar and Karinthy. I started this group because I couldn't find anything akin and active on Goodreads. This page is dedicated to the memory of the Argentinian literary critic, Ana María Barrenechea, who first used the term "irreality" in connection with Borges's works.

[close] NOTE: This group is intermittently active, but you are welcome to revive past discussions if you're currently reading any of those books. We read challenging novels that depart from the standard forms of narrative fiction. We explore various types of fiction including stream-of-consciousness, surrealism, nouveau roman, antinovel, post-modern, metafiction, oulipo, and other formal experiments that bend the “rules” of story-telling. Reading schedules are not the priority here. Instead, the quality of the discussions takes precedence. We’re more interested in your thoughts than your reading speed.