About
Raymond Queneau (1903-1976) was a French writer born in Le Havre. After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne, he briefly associated with the Surrealists. He joined Gallimard in 1938, later becoming director of the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade. In 1960, he co-founded Oulipo, a group exploring literature under mathematical constraints. His work blends humor, spoken language, and formal experimentation, as in Exercises in Style or Zazie in the Metro.
* 1903-02-21 — † 1976-10-25
Major works
- Le Chiendent (1933)novel
- Exercices de style (1947)novel
- Zazie dans le métro (1959)novel
- Cent mille milliards de poèmes (1961)poetry
- Les Fleurs bleues (1965)novel
Key milestones
- 1951Elected to the Académie Goncourt
- 1960Co-founded Oulipo with François Le Lionnais
- 1956Became director of the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade
Themes
spoken languageformal constraintshumormathematics and literatureeveryday life
Sources: id.loc.gov · research.hrc.utexas.edu · ndbooks.com