Abstract

The result of Oulipo's manipulations seem devoid of any message. Upon performing, however, what could be called an Oulipo-critique, the folding of an Oulipo product into a body of knowledge quite removed from it, in this case biology and information theory, we find that Oulipo's message is not in the text but in the work one is likely to perform on that text. That work has all the characteristics of a highly redundant and organized interference and consists in establishing contextual and/or intertextual relationships according to preset formal constraints where chance plays almost no role. Oulipo in effect confuses message and information and its message is programmatic, an invitation to write using those formal constraints.

Keywords: oulipian, oulipian messages, oulipo, performing arts, drama, oulipo-critique, biology, information theory, contextual relationships, intertextuality, intertextual relationships, message, information, constrained writing techniques, writing techniques

How to Cite:

Levy, S., (1988) “Oulipian Messages”, Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature 12(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1214