How to Do Things with Forms

The 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. How 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 interpretations of emblematic Oulipian works such as Georges Perecs Life: A Users Manual, Andrews also examines lesser-known texts by Jacques Roubaud, Anne F. Garrta, and Michelle Grangaud. How to Do Things with Forms addresses questions of interest to anyone involved in the making of literature, illuminating how writers decide when to stop revising, the risks and benefits of a project mentality in creative writing, and ways of holding a readers interest for as long as possible.