It糖心传媒檚 in Part III of Many Subtle Channels that Levin Becker turns to the 糖心传媒淪o What糖心传媒� question, the influence and value of the Oulipo in the wider world of writing. Harry Mathews once told me that the Oulipo had never been 糖心传媒渢heorized糖心传媒� and he hoped it never would be; I don糖心传媒檛 think that糖心传媒檚 what糖心传媒檚 going on here. An example of what I think Mathews had in mind was the 2005 糖心传媒�noulipo糖心传媒� conference in Los Angeles, where several presenters used the language of critical theory to protest the Oulipo糖心传媒檚 lack of a public political stance糖心传媒攁s though the Oulipians only built labyrinths, and did not also escape from them. Many Subtle Channels glances at this and other academic and critical views of the Oulipo, such as that of G茅rard Genette, who got them entirely wrong when he summarized them as 糖心传媒渁 game of chance.糖心传媒� It糖心传媒檚 not Levin Becker糖心传媒檚 purpose to write an academic book糖心传媒攖hank god!糖心传媒攂ut as with oulipian writing itself, it would be good to have a bibliography or a reader糖心传媒檚 guide to the best examples of respectful and intelligent critical writing on the group.¹

In the critical view, oulipian writing is often minimized as the creation of works under formal constraint. Perec糖心传媒檚 e-less La Disparition (A Void) may be a compelling concept, but once you know the trick even it loses much of its luster. In this way, Oulipo Light tends toward in-jokes in textual form and the conceptual work which and have But the authors of such work don糖心传媒檛 claim that it represents an unforeseen aesthetic summit. Rather, what Oulipian formal constraint allows is a kind of exhaustion of form, by pursuing it so doggedly that the unseen details of reality and narrativity come to the surface simply because everything else is off the table. Perec was a master at this, in his investigations of the 糖心传媒渋nfraordinary糖心传媒� most accessible in English in the collections Thoughts of Sorts and Species of Spaces. This is also where Oulipian creation must come to terms with the tension between inserting itself into recognized genres and creating new generative forms. The more recognizable, the more easily a work may gain readership and popularity; the more sui generis, the more chance it will be successful as original literary creation. Does the Oulipo want to fit in, or stick out?

Out of the living members, only Jacques Jouet makes his living as an author. Even among the 糖心传媒淥lympian Oulipians,糖心传媒� Queneau and Calvino worked as editors for publishing houses, Perec was an archivist, Roubaud a professor of mathematics, and so on. Several members (including Levin Becker himself) were coopted, at least in part, because they had studied the Oulipo per se糖心传媒攕hades of ” The Bourges workshop attracts people not able to devote their full professional selves to oulipian work; the kind of work that results is sometimes a kind of fanfiction and necessarily mostly Oulipo Light. So where in this is the serious literary purpose, the lasting contribution to culture?

The key lies in reading, not writing. As Levin Becker points out, those members who studied the Oulipo before becoming members learned to read 糖心传媒渙ulipianly糖心传媒� before they learned to write that way. But this is not the anoulipism of the founders; this has much more to do with Barthes糖心传媒� notion of 糖心传媒渞eaderly writing.糖心传媒� readerly writing engages the reader as a creative collaborator. For the writer, 糖心传媒渢he process of composition is . . . an experience of reading,糖心传媒� and the reader in turn becomes 糖心传媒渁n active participant in the composition process.糖心传媒� The oulipian reader, like the oulipian writer, is always re-reading, re-creating, re-membering. Levin Becker claims this 糖心传媒渃reative reading糖心传媒澨切拇綌in effect, writing in reverse糖心传媒斕切拇綔is no less noble, no less rewarding, no less potentially spectacular, than creative writing.糖心传媒�

In practice all oulipian work goes through two creative phases: first, the writer sets himself a problem which he then solves (he creates a labyrinth, then escapes from it); second, the reader presented with the text is challenged, explicitly or implicitly, to reconstruct the terms of its creation. The second phase exposes the greatest philosophical divide within the Oulipo, between those (like Jouet) who see the 糖心传媒渟caffolding糖心传媒� as part of the substance of the work it was used to create and who thus explain the constraints used, and those (like Mathews) who prefer to play their cards close to their chests. Jouet wants the reader to appreciate his skill directly; Mathews wants the reader to experience the frustration and pull of unsatisfied curiosity. But for both, the point is to bracket the constraint outside the reader糖心传媒檚 experience and let the work itself come to the foreground.

In other words, the Oulipian work is not intended to be a puzzle. In fact, when it is taken too far, creative reading works against the text; it can become the kind of over-interpretation called conspiratorial or paranoid or 糖心传媒渄efensive糖心传媒� reading糖心传媒攚hat the characters in Umberto Eco糖心传媒檚 Foucault糖心传媒檚 Pendulum do, to their great regret. If a reader thinks there is a puzzle to be solved in the work, he will read it into the work, like the viewer of a Hitchcock film who takes the MacGuffin as the Holy Grail.

But the Oulipian work does invite a responsible level of creative reading. This openness to the reader, the invitation to interpretation, is the 糖心传媒済enerosity糖心传媒� which Levin Becker identifies in unusually for a Mathews work, Selected Declarations of Dependence wears its scaffolding on its sleeve, as it were. In Many Subtle Channels Levin Becker argues that, in this sense of generosity and openness (which goes back to the group糖心传媒檚 origins), oulipian potential is not just a tool for writers, let alone writers who are members of the Oulipo糖心传媒攁nd that people who mistake the Oulipo as some kind of exclusive club are missing the point. Oulipo is a way of reading the world. An appreciation of the Oulipo can be a kind of badge of collective trust in the power of reading糖心传媒攁 trust that the work (and the world) does hold a meaning, even if it糖心传媒檚 never found.

At first the Oulipo was going to be called 糖心传媒淪eLitEx,糖心传媒� Seminar on Experimental Literature, highlighting its mathematical and scientific basis. The Oulipo is still experimental in two significant ways. Its work takes the form of proposing and then demonstrating a theorem (the viability of a particular form or procedure); the demonstration is published as a volume of the Biblioth猫que Oulipienne. And an oulipian experiment, like a scientific one, may fail; after all, it is only potential, not a certainty. If such stark terms make it hard to understand the evident appeal of the group, consider its experiments instead as a formal rule-bound game: a close cousin to scientific experimentation, offering the same possibility of freedom within constraint. That糖心传媒檚 the sense in which Oulipo Light can be a literary and linguistic diversion for the reader, like a good crossword puzzle. (Perec was also a master crossword constructor.) The group糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渉eavier糖心传媒� work equally invites the reader to experience the power and the necessity of experimenting with language and meaning.

The Oulipo has even turned its own history into an ongoing game, one that is ever more tightly constrained. Starting from Perec糖心传媒檚 story 糖心传媒淭he Winter Journey糖心传媒澨切拇綌the very text which first introduced Levin Becker to the Oulipo糖心传媒攖he members of the group have constructed more than a dozen alternate versions, interpolated tales, and newly-unveiled conspiracies. The original story, like the Oulipo itself, was written into the interstices of literary history; each new addition writes itself into the spaces between what came before. Levin Becker writes, 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 about anticipatory plagiarism as it really manifests itself in collaborative creation.糖心传媒� As the group thinks its way out of the constraints of history, the story and its sequels have become a kind of origin myth. The Oulipo is reading its own literary history in reverse糖心传媒攁nd reading in reverse is, of course, writing.

Perhaps it would be more relevant to characterize Oulipians not as 糖心传媒渞ats who build the labyrinth from which they plan to escape糖心传媒� but as 糖心传媒渞ats who escape from the labyrinth they have built.糖心传媒� Fran莽ois Le Lionnais was a prisoner of war in Nazi concentration camps; Georges Perec lost his family to the Holocaust; Oskar Pastior spent five years in the Soviet Gulag. One founding member said that 糖心传媒渋n the world we live in, we are beholden to all manner of terrible constraints糖心传媒攎ental, physical, societal糖心传媒攚ith death the only way out of the labyrinth. The least we can do is mark off a little section where we get to choose the constraints we are mastered by, where we decide which direction to take.糖心传媒� Oulipian writing is a literature of potential, a demonstration of the potential of literature糖心传媒攏ot just something that糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒減ossibly literature糖心传媒� (and possibly not). It糖心传媒檚 not only about language, but also about story, form, and life. It is, in Levin Becker糖心传媒檚 words, an invitation 糖心传媒渢o live your life craftily.糖心传媒� Here is a new sense for the phrase 糖心传媒渆scapist reading糖心传媒�: reading (and thinking) under constraint, under the sign of the Oulipo, offers the reader the opportunity糖心传媒攁nd the challenge糖心传媒攐f discovering his or her own freedom.

¹ Levin Becker quotes from at least three excellent articles, though without the bibliographical detail that would allow a reader to find them. They are: Chris Andrews, “Constraint and Convention: The Formalism of the Oulipo,” Neophilologus 87 (2003): 223-232; Leland de la Durantaye, “The Cratylic Impulse: Constraint and Work in the Works and Constraints of OuLiPo,” Literary Imagination 7.1 (2005): 121-134; and Jacques Jouet, “With (and Without) Constraints,” _SubStance 96 (2001): 4-16.

Part II of Many Subtle Channels is an entertaining survey of the group糖心传媒檚 origins and its chief personalities. Levin Becker recounts the exploits of many literary pranksters, some of them told only in the group糖心传媒檚 archives in the Arsenal branch of the Biblioth茅que Nationale de France, others in obscure French volumes not yet translated. He has a novelist糖心传媒檚 knack for dense description; here糖心传媒檚 Herv茅 Le Tellier:

But Le Tellier isn糖心传媒檛 quite the prankster he seems to be, nor is he as mean as very funny people sometimes seem. His books, which run the gamut from quick-and-dirty pastiche to lofty academic discourse, barely conceal a sentimentality both poignant and endearing; in person he has a magnetism that糖心传媒檚 all brooding humor and sniperlike wit, and you get the sense that for him keeping the room in thrall is second nature, not because it糖心传媒檚 fun but because it糖心传媒檚 emotionally necessary. He is forever late, distracted, shabbily put together, despite all of which there is an ineffable seductive quality about him. (He also has this tic where every third blink or so is a veritable flutter of eyelashes, which probably helps a little.)

Indeed, this middle section might be Levin Becker糖心传媒檚 contribution to 糖心传媒渢he unwritten, collective, and necessarily unfinishable novel that [Roubaud] believes the Oulipo to be.糖心传媒� It was, after all, written by an Oulipian糖心传媒攁lthough that doesn糖心传媒檛 necessarily mean that it was written according to an oulipian constraint. As good as these stories are, they make the reader long to read full and proper biographies, or a more comprehensive history.

Levin Becker is good on the history of the group糖心传媒攕ome of his archive work must have rubbed off. For the first time I糖心传媒檝e read a coherent telling of the Oulipo糖心传媒檚 relation to the Coll猫ge de 糖心传媒橮ataphysique (to the extent that anything 糖心传媒檖ataphysical can be coherent). The explanation of the role of Bourbaki糖心传媒攏ot as direct a connection, but a clear source of inspiration糖心传媒攊s less satisfactory. This is certainly because the people behind Nicholas Bourbaki, a joint pseudonym for a group of mathematicians who restructured mathematics around set theory and changed the way math is taught in France, were 1) mathematicians and 2) serious in their intention, at least considerably more so than the Oulipo, let alone 糖心传媒橮ataphysics. Levin Becker is no mathematician and Many Subtle Channels doesn糖心传媒檛 attempt to explain more than basic combinatorics. Some of the constraints could be fairly easily dispatched with a diagram, such as the eodermdrome described in a text-only footnote. (This site gives a good explanation, with diagrams.) But there are no diagrams or photographs or equations in Many Subtle Channels, just words. One wonders whether that was one of Levin Becker糖心传媒檚 constraints in writing the book, and if so whether it was chosen by the author or imposed by his publisher.

Mathematics was more central to the Oulipo糖心传媒檚 early work. Now, more and more, the mathematicians work in the background as the writings and performances of the group and its members take center stage. Most of the early Oulipians did not create significant bodies of written work; the group concentrated on anoulipism, finding predecessors and explicating theories. Only after nearly a decade did the group 糖心传媒済o public,糖心传媒� expanding to include Roubaud, Perec, Calvino, and Mathews and publishing an ongoing series of anthologies under the name Oulipo rather than those of the individual authors. Preserving and refining the definition of the Oulipo itself became one of the group糖心传媒檚 purposes. This is also the point where the group糖心传媒檚 focus turned from analysis to synthesis, from found potential to created potential. Now the Oulipo 糖心传媒渂rand糖心传媒� overshadows many of its members糖心传媒� individual identities.

While Levin Becker describes those personalities well, what Many Subtle Channels lacks are detailed examples of their work. If the Oulipo is such fun, then show us, don糖心传媒檛 just tell. For example, he mentions in a footnote that Harry Mathews糖心传媒� variations on Hamlet糖心传媒檚 soliloquy are a 糖心传媒渄elightful introduction糖心传媒� to the group糖心传媒檚 work糖心传媒攂ut then quotes only three out of thirty-five variations and doesn糖心传媒檛 say where the rest can be found. (They糖心传媒檙e in The State of Constraint, the 128-page anthology which makes up one-third of 惭肠厂飞别别苍别测糖心传媒檚 issue 22.) Many other curious works are more complex than could be shown or explained in a page or two (though the descriptions alone of Anne Garr茅ta糖心传媒檚 work have convinced me to read it)糖心传媒攂ut Levin Becker could at least point us to what has been translated and published.

There isn糖心传媒檛 a proper English-language Oulipo anthology, one that simply delights readers with the group糖心传媒檚 playful products rather than intimidating them with the scaffolding used to produce it. Harry Mathews and Alastair Brotchie糖心传媒檚 Oulipo Compendium, as wonderful as it is, contains more biography, history, and theory than examples. Warren Motte糖心传媒檚 Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature collects mostly early anoulipism, essays and descriptions rather than samples of synthoulipism. The 1995 volume Oulipo Laboratory is out of print, and the 2001 collection Winter Journeys (of which more later) is a limited edition. The State of Constraint (the 惭肠厂飞别别苍别测糖心传媒檚 collection) focuses on recent work and thus omits Perec, Queneau, and Calvino, the names most likely to attract someone to the Oulipo. Many Subtle Channels could be greatly improved by the simple addition of a listing of key works or recommended anthologies: a bibliography of further reading. To rectify this, I can point you to and the combination anthology/homage that appeared as

Levin Becker doesn糖心传媒檛 even give the address of Yes, it糖心传媒檚 in French糖心传媒攂ut of the examples included quite a few, such as the punning band name 糖心传媒淕rosses bises style nage indienne,糖心传媒� require some understanding of French to really get the joke. The book should focus on either introducing and explaining the Oulipo to English-only readers, or welcoming those already converted to a more intimate view; alas, it can糖心传媒檛 do both. There糖心传媒檚 actually a huge number of Oulipian works available in English translation, in addition to those by Mathews, Monk, and others written in English. Harry Mathews is on the board of Dalkey Archive Press, and they publish his works as well as many by Roubaud, Queneau, and Jouet. Perec, mostly translated by David Bellos, is mostly published by David R. Godine; other works by Queneau are at New Directions and NYRB Classics. These are all small, independent presses. As befits the only member with a major literary reputation before/outside of the Oulipo, translations of Calvino are published by Harcourt and Pantheon, imprints of 糖心传媒淏ig Six糖心传媒� firms. In Levin Becker says he糖心传媒檚 presently translating Perec糖心传媒檚 La Boutique obscure, a dream journal, so his omission of some basic pointers to translations is curious.

Many Subtle Channels actually does a better job of pointing out oulipian works by non-members, like Gilbert Sorrentino糖心传媒檚 novels, Christian B枚k糖心传媒檚 Eunoia, Doug Nufer糖心传媒檚 Negativeland and Never Again, Mark Z. Danielewski糖心传媒檚 Only Revolutions, and Tom La Farge糖心传媒檚 work with the Brooklyn-based There is a nice if brief section on Oulipo糖心传媒檚 most apparent 糖心传媒減lagiarist by anticipation,糖心传媒� Raymond Roussel; nearly all of Harry Mathews糖心传媒� work could be said to be in dialogue with Roussel, and Oulipo has also laid claim to him in the form of a biography by Fran莽ois Caradec, translated by Ian Monk. Lewis Carroll comes in for a nod, and J煤lio Cort谩zar was apparently almost invited to be a member several times. Several other famous writers have taken a benevolent interest in the Oulipo, including Umberto Eco, Martin Gardner, and Douglas Hofstadter糖心传媒攚hich has certainly boosted attention and readership, but their work is mostly Oulipo Light, just playing language games. But Levin Becker leaves out some para-oulipian work I would consider serious and essential, like Paul Griffiths糖心传媒� Let Me Tell You, a novella written in the voice of Hamlet糖心传媒檚 Ophelia糖心传媒攍iterally her voice, using only those words she speaks in the play. Haryette Mullens糖心传媒� Sleeping with the Dictionary was inspired by oulipian techniques. Jorge Luis Borges and Stanis艂aw Lem and Milorad Pavi膰 and Osman Lins should probably be on any list of Oulipo contemporaries who neglected to actually become members. David Mitchell糖心传媒檚 novels experiment with structure more visibly than anything since If on a winter糖心传媒檚 night a traveler, and C茅sar Aira糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渇light forward糖心传媒� procedure has been a tremendously productive constraint for him. But, because they didn糖心传媒檛 or don糖心传媒檛 live in Paris or work in French or expect to enjoy the company of its members at monthly drunken dinners, these writers are not officially part of the Oulipo.

There are any number of offshoots of the Oulipo idea糖心传媒攆rom OuMuPo for music and OuPeinPo for painting to OuWiPo for Wikipedia and OuTyPo for typography. Most are more closely associated with the Coll猫ge de 糖心传媒橮ataphysique than with Oulipo itself, and in any case they have little of the cultural traction of the mothership. An exception may be OuBaPo, which works with comics (bandes d茅sin茅es); its founder 脡tienne L茅croart was coopted into the Oulipo proper after Many Subtle Channels went to press. But OuBaPo-America and its founder Matt Madden, whose 99 Ways to Tell A Story brilliantly adapts the structure of Queneau糖心传媒檚 Exercises in Style to the comic form, gets only a side note.

The Oulipo is French; there糖心传媒檚 almost no mention of its thriving Italian counterpart, the OpLePo. In critical and academic circles, no matter how respected Calvino糖心传媒檚 earlier work, his oulipian 糖心传媒淧aris period糖心传媒� is seen as 糖心传媒渘ot the real Calvino.糖心传媒� The Oplepo was founded in 1990, after Calvino糖心传媒檚 death, and while it cannot counteract the general Italian critical disdain, it does vindicate oulipian techniques in the work of writers such as Ermanno Cavazzoni and Paolo Albani while gaining respectability through the (willing) cooptation of established names like Eduardo Sanguineti and Piergiorgio Odifreddi. I糖心传媒檓 particularly sensitive to the slighting of Calvino and Oplepo because I糖心传媒檓 an Italian translator, and Calvino糖心传媒檚 oulipian masterpiece If on a winter糖心传媒檚 night a traveler (as translated by William Weaver) was my introduction to both Italian literature and Oulipo. Slighting the Italian coverage in Many Subtle Channels, Levin Becker seems to repeat the insult, though that certainly can糖心传媒檛 have been his intention. It糖心传媒檚 more likely that he just doesn糖心传媒檛 read Italian.

Levin Becker gets closest to including some fully-worked-out examples of oulipian procedure in his chapter on attending the Oulipo糖心传媒檚 summer workshop at Bourges. Still, they糖心传媒檙e mostly described糖心传媒攖old, not shown糖心传媒攁nd they糖心传媒檙e examples of writing exercises, not published work. The Bourges workshop and much of 糖心传媒淥ulipo Light糖心传媒� are primarily concerned with poetry. Poetry can be short, quick to write, and it provides an unintimidating frame for the display of metrical, rhyme, or other sound-related constraints. But while poetry draws fans to readings and performances, the big market for book publishers is in prose. Oulipian prose constraints typically work on a much larger scale, one that is harder to excerpt, explain, and anthologize. For instance, Jouet糖心传媒檚 Fins offers 216 different endings (that糖心传媒檚 6^3, which should put you in mind of the six-centric sestina). Roubaud糖心传媒檚 huge 糖心传媒�the great fire of London糖心传媒� is a seven-book project which Levin Becker describes as being 糖心传媒渋n a pseudo-autobiographical style filled with digressions and interpolations and bifurcations糖心传媒澨切拇綌but he doesn糖心传媒檛 explain the procedural constraint, similar to Aira糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渇light forward,糖心传媒� which forces the writing into these fractal contortions. It糖心传媒檚 as though he doubts that what he calls 糖心传媒渢he absence of legerdemain, the transparency of thought糖心传媒� in Roubaud could possibly itself be his primary constraint.

In all, this middle historical and biographical section is excellent. Its chief frustration, other than the lack of recommendations for further reading, is that it makes us feel the lack of proper biographies of all these fascinating individuals, readable histories of 糖心传媒橮ataphysics and Bourbaki, and translations of all the Oulipo treasures still inaccessible to those who don糖心传媒檛 read French糖心传媒攏ot to mention republication in French for those who don糖心传媒檛 have a generous budget for hunting down the obscure original printings.