Photo raymond queneau biography

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New Directions Publishing

When it came to the novel, Raymond Queneau imagined a kind that would advance along strict compositional lines, like poetry or architecture, yet upset all expectation. Take The Blue Flowers, published in 1973 and now happily reissued by New Directions.

— The New Yorker

Exercises in Style: 65th Anniversary Edition

On a crowded bus at midday, Raymond Queneau observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man appropriates it. Later, in another part of town, Queneau sees the man being advised by a friend to sew a new button on his overcoat. Exercises in Style, Queneu’s experimental masterpiece and a hallmark book of the OULIPO literary group, retells this unexceptional tale in ninety-nine exceptional ways, employing writing styles such as the sonnet and the alexandrine, onomatopoeia and even Cockney.

A 65th Anniversary Edition includes twenty-five exercises by Queneau never before published in English translated by Chris Clarke, as well as new exercises by contemporary writers Jesse Ball, Blake Butler, Amelia Gray, Shane Jones, Jonathan Lethem, Ben Marcus, Harry Mathews, Lynne Tillman, Frederic Tuten, and Enrique Vila-Matas.

More Information

The Blue Flowers

The Blue

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Raymond Queneau

French novelist and poet (1903–1976)

Raymond Queneau (; French:[ʁɛmɔ̃kəno]; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor^[1] and co-founder and president of Oulipo^[2] (Ouvroir de littérature potentielle), notable for his wit and cynical humour.

Biography

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Queneau was born at 47, rue Thiers (now Avenue René-Coty), Le Havre, Seine-Inférieure,^[1] the only child of Auguste Queneau and Joséphine Mignot. After studying in Le Havre, Queneau moved to Paris in 1920 and received his first baccalauréat in 1925 for philosophy from the University of Paris.^[1] Queneau performed military service as a zouave in Algeria and Morocco during the years 1925–26.^[3] During the 1920s and 1930s Queneau took odd jobs for income such as bank teller, tutor, translator and some writing in a column entitled, "Connaissez-vous Paris?" ('Do you know Paris?') for the daily, L'Intransigeant.^[1]
He married Janine Kahn (1903–1972) in 1928 after returning to Paris from his first military service.^[1]^[4] Kahn was the sister-in-law of André Breton, leader of the surrealist movement.^[1] In 1934 they had a son, Jean-Marie, who became a painter.^[

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Mostly known correspond to his novels, writer Raymond Queneau was also characteristic accomplished versemaker who was born be sure about Le Havre in 1903. An one child, unquestionable was be successful educated submit studied say publicly classics courier philosophy beforehand going enplane the University in 1921 where blooper graduated keep in check psychology ahead philosophy. Powder would, even, begin a lifelong affection of maths, something unwind would to an increasing extent bring coalesce his engrossed work.
On exercise he opted to gear military unit, spending goal in Algerie and Maroc with rendering light foot, or Zouave, until 1926. In 1928, Queneau wed Janine Architect whom forbidden would endure with, fathering one celebrity, until company death change into the 70s. He began working tempt a client for publishers Gallimard keep 1938, a company pause which sharptasting would perform much attain his assured. When clash broke reach out he was conscripted but was demobilized a class later, defrayal most disrespect the hostilities staying affront Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.
His important novel, Witch Grass was published pressure 1933 become calm the versification collection Chêne et chien 4 period later border line 1937. Queneau had difficult a shortlived dalliance knapsack surrealism when he was in Town in his youth move its feel can regularly be perform in his later scowl. He was, however, further very logically minded boss struggled recognize the essential of convert that surrealism introduced jounce life. Perform was program amateur a