Three collections of Oulipo writing

Which is best for you?

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Oulipo is a writing movement that advocates imposing constraints in order to generate new writing. You can read more about it here:

Imposing limits in order to enhance your creativity

In this article I review three books of Oulipo writing:

• The Penguin Book of Oulipo

• All That Is Evident Is Suspect

• The Oulipo Compendium

I have reviewed these books before, but in this post I have expanded those reviews, collated them into one article, and compared the three books.

The Penguin Book of Oulipo

See this book on Amazon (affiliate link)

How do you deal with writer’s block? Chances are you follow the advice of the experts who advocate free writing: just write the first thing that comes into your head, and see what happens. But how about adopting a strategy that is diametrically opposed to this: using constraints?

It sounds counter-intuitive, but imposing a restriction is likely to lead to more creativity rather than less. For example, if you attempt to write a coherent piece without using a particular letter, you really have to choose your words carefully. The result is likely to be more interesting as a result.

The word Oulipo is an acronym of a French group, Ouvroir de littérature potentielle. This is usually translated as Workshop of Potential Literature, although given its association with the sharing and critique of work on creative writing courses, the word ‘workshop’ might be ditched in favour of ‘work room’. At least, this is the view of Dennis Duncan in his book The Oulipo and Modern Thought (Amazon affiliate link).

So, what is ‘potential literature’ or Oulipo? It’s much more than a technique to combat writer’s block! I think it can best be summed up as applying constraints to see what unexpected literature results.

This book explains, in an extensive introduction, the sorts of constraints that are employed, while an index of constraints points the reader to examples of the techniques used.

One of the constraints, for example, is writing in the form of an acrostic. This is where the first letter of the first word of each sentence or line spells something out. I applied this technique to this review of a short story course.

Another technique is omitting a letter. This is known as a lipogram. An example is Perec’s novel, A Void, which does not have a single ‘e’ in it.

This book is a veritable cornucopia of examples of Oulipo — in some cases written by authors who predated the movement, which started in 1960. (Those cases are known, somewhat playfully, as ‘anticipatory plagiarism’.)

Interestingly, some of the techniques are mathematical in nature. For example, one of Queneau’s pieces is based on Set Theory, and another (A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems) is based on the mathematics of combinations. In that particular case, the author wrote ten sonnets. Each of the 14 lines of each one can be cut out and used in any of the other poems. The result is more possible sonnets than one could ever hope to read in several lifetimes.

You can approach this book in several ways. One would be to start at the beginning and read through to the end. Another is to use the index of constraints to explore examples of particular techniques. Yet another is simply to dip in at random.

Whichever approach appeals to you, you will be sure to find this book hugely rewarding, both in terms of enjoyment, and for trying out new ways to challenge yourself.

And, of course, for blasting away writer’s block!

All that is evident is suspect

See this book on Amazon (affiliate link)

This is a compendium of writings from the Oulipo, the "workshop of potential literature" started in 1960 in France. Oulipo is based on constraints, be they mathematical or literary.

For example, one constraint is the lipogram, in which the writer constructs a piece of work without the use of a particular letter. With a wry smile, the Oulipo regards those writers who came up with similar ideas before its inception as anticipatory plagiarists.

Where this work differs from others of a similar nature, notably the Penguin Book of the Oulipo (see below), is in its inclusion of writing that was never intended to be published.

For example, there are the minutes of meetings of the Oulipo and correspondence between its members. This serves to very much enrich the offering, as it provides an insight into the nature of the group and of its personalities, and the relationships between them. Some of the pieces and comments are quite amusing. I especially liked:

"Les fous littéraires, Blavier’s continuation of Raymond Queneau’s long-considered but finally abandoned project of assembling a compendium of literary madmen: writers who took themselves terribly seriously and were completely wrong about everything."

"Philosophers at the Gödel Institute für Logik have definitively proved that in order to erect a sign in the middle of a lawn that says no walking on the lawn, someone has to walk on the lawn."

and

"In observance of World Teachers’ Day, the Vientiane satellite and the Digital Francophone Campus will be closed on Friday, October 7."

There are also pearls of wisdom and insight in these pages. For example, Jacques Duchateau said, in a 1963 lecture:

"Writers do not live cloistered alone in their sole domain. But we have lived until now with the postulate that literature and “science” are irreconcilable. This may be true, but it has still yet to be proven."

I would suggest that, judging from the writings of the Oulipo, what has been proven is the opposite, that a mathematical approach can very much be brought to bear on constructing a poem or a piece of prose.

And:

"It was Rivarol, the right-wing anarchist, who stated: “A man who is right twenty-four hours before everyone else is taken for a lunatic for twenty-four hours.”

There are also some beautifully expressed observations. For example, Marcel Bénabou writes:

"...he has not managed to reach the heights of rigor and perfection to which he aspires. And, with a despair that grows each day, he discovers the vertiginous abyss of his own incompetence."

The book includes some ideas and readings that will bear revisiting. For instance, a couple of writers collaborated on what they called "microfictions". This involved one of them writing critiques of short stories which did not yet exist, and then the other one writing the stories based on those critiques.

Side note: This sounds like a wonderful idea. Please let me know if you fancy collaborating with me to try it out.

I also enjoyed Paul Braffort's "Imaginary libraries", with its classification of libraries into imaginary real libraries, real imaginary libraries, and others. For example, the geographic library, containing works such as All Quiet on the Western Front. Or there’s the chromatic library, hosting works such as Chrome Yellow¹. In addition, Hervé Le Tellier’s A Few Musketeers is highly original. The author wakes up one morning to find that all the numbers in his books, and in his life in general, have increased by one. For example, he now owns a book called Around the world in 81 days, and Fahrenheit 452. It’s very funny, if somewhat nightmarish.

There are a few things I didn't like about the book. I found a lot of the poetry boring. It may have been clever, but I am afraid I detected little literary merit in much of it. Still, given that one of the aims of the Oulipo is to generate potential literature it is, by its very nature, experimental. And like all experiments, some results won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Another problem is that unlike the Penguin book mentioned earlier, there are no indications of the technique used. I realise that, for the ardent Oulipian, that is probably the point: to apply a technique without the reader being consciously aware of it. Nevertheless, in a book devoted to providing a representative sample of Oulipian work, I think a few signposts would not have come amiss.

I found it interesting to read Calvino's explanation of how he wrote "If on a winter's night a traveller", although not being a logician I could not understand it!

Despite these misgivings, the book is a marvellous collection of Oulipo writings. Although I read the book from start to finish, it very much lends itself to dipping in at random, and savouring the inventiveness of the writers. Highly recommended.

The Oulipo Compendium

See this book on Amazon (affiliate link)

The Oulipo Compendium, compiled by Harry Matthews and Alastair Brotchie, is in effect a dictionary/encyclopaedia of Oulipo. As such it is both comprehensive and easy to navigate. Oulipo is the use of restrictions (constraints) in writing. For example, writing a text in which every word starts with the same letter (a technique known as “tautogram”). The point is to see what potential such constraints might have for creating literature. Contrary to what you might expect, applying such constraints tends to lead to more creativity rather than less.

The Compendium opens with Raymond Queneau’s 100 billion poems. This is a collection of ten sonnets. Originally, they were printed in such a way that you could mix up the lines from all the poems in order to create new ones -- a 100 billion sonnets to be more precise. According to the Compendium,

“Queneau calculated that someone reading the book 24 hours a day would need 190,258,751 years to complete it.”

This is a great way of starting the book because it gives you a flavour of what’s to come. However, apart from the additional sections (more of which in a moment), the book is probably more useful to those who already know a bit about Oulipo and want a reference book. If you are new to the subject, it’s not an easy read, because there is no obvious starting point. A better book from this point of view is the Penguin Book of Oulipo. In my opinion that provides a better introduction, but is not as detailed as the Compendium. I would say that the two books together complement each other.

On the subject of the detail, it is impressive. There are long examples of Oulipian work, and plenty of cross-referencing. As an example, I am currently interested in the application of computing to Oulipo, and I found a great deal of useful information in this book in under three minutes. 

Following the main part of the book are additional sections introducing a few variations of Oulipo. One of these, for example, is Oupeinpo, inn which the principles of Oulipo are applied to art. Looking back on my school life, I wonder if my art teacher was aware of this movement when he set us work in which we could use only one colour, such as blue or yellow. Painting a landscape or, if you are a masochist, a crowd scene, using only different shades of blue is quite a challenge!

Another section is dedicated to the Oulipopo, or detective fiction, while another focuses on the Oulibapo, or comic strips, and yet another deals with Oupeinpo, or potential painting.

Highly recommended.

From the back cover:

The Oulipo Compendium abounds in material for writers, teachers and scholars; it also offers a cornucopia of entertainment for curious readers.

Decision time

Assuming that you’re interested in exploring the Oulipo, which one of these books is the right one for you?

In an ideal world, I’d suggest all of them, because they each offer something different. The Compendium is especially good for reviewing the types of Oulipo there are, and its alphabetical organisation makes it easy to look things up (if you know whet you’re looking for).

All that is evident… is good for including loner works and not-intended-to-be-published writing.

The Penguin book has an extensive introduction that explains the various aspects of Oulipian writing. It also contains a huge number of extracts from Oulipian works, each of which has an indication of what sort of work it is. For instance, the extract from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is labelled as “anticipatory plagiarism”.

So, all have something to offer, but perhaps the main factor influencing your choice will be ease of availability and, therefore, price. Of these three, the only one to tick those boxes is the Penguin one. The other two are available from libraries (if you’re lucky) or as used copies (at a price).

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A podcast on the Oulipo

I hope you found this three-way review interesting and useful. If you’re interested in learning more about the Oulipo, you’ll be pleased to learn that Dr Kathleen Waller interviewed me for her podcast. She has scheduled the podcast to go live on May 4 and will have it as a Substack post on May 9. The podcast is from Podbean but available on Apple/Spotify/Amazon and a few more. You can see the links here: The Matterhorn Podcast.

A course on the Oulipo

Also, I’m running a short online course called Writing the Oulipo: A Taster, in which I’ll be exploring some of the Oulipo techniques mentioned in this article. We’ll have a lot of fun exploring and sharing.

More details here:

Writing the Oulipo: A Taster

Here are the reviews of the previous course I ran:

Feedback From A Course Called Writing The Oulipo

• I loved this taster course, and it was enjoyable, inspiring and entertaining! A great course to remove any writing anxieties and just have fun with words, and interesting twists of probability!

• Terry Freedman is a masterpiece. He delivered one of the best courthouses I have been a stuffing on. An engaging roof through workaday with a bit of matricide thrown in. More stump from the wobbler please!

• Terry was fantastic! So glad I took the course and look forward to others with him.

• I joined this course out of sheer curiosity - intrigued about the mystery and eccentricity of Oulipo after I searched for the term online. This course was a delight, and it was so much fun creating ideas and pieces of writing using lots of different techniques, games and twists of probability! I found it a bit like collage or assemblage with words.
  
  It would be a wonderful course for a writer of any level, to explore how play and experimentation can help you to have words running off the page with minimal anxiety – even if you are nervous about blank pages and where to begin!
  

  I actually think the course would be great for creatives of all disciplines because it inspires concepts, titles and much more.
  

  Our tutor was wonderful, and very knowledgeable, with a clear passion for the technique. I feel everyone had a chance to engage, share work and ask ample questions!
  

  A lot of peer inspiration was shared too, and I loved learning from other students. I’d had quite a stressful week before this course, but within no time I was feeling inspired and having a lot of fun! I had a great, entertaining morning, and in fact I was so motivated I used the technique to create some of my own work after the course itself. I would simply ask for more Oulipo as a longer course - virtual please! Thank you.

1. Do check out this post by

Mark R DeLong

in which he considers the views of Eco and Taleb on libraries:

Unread books. Plus: pulp fiction covers.