Hervé Le Tellier
Encyclopedia
Hervé Le Tellier is a French writer and linguist
, and a member of the international literary group Oulipo
(Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, which translates roughly as "workshop of potential literature"). Other notable members have included Raymond Queneau
, Georges Perec
, Italo Calvino
, Jacques Roubaud
, Jean Lescure
and Harry Mathews
.
in 1992. As an author, he came to general attention in 1998 with the publication in France of his book Les amnésiques n'ont rien vécu d'inoubliable, a collection of one thousand very short sentences all beginning with "Je pense que" (I think that), published in English as A Thousand Pearls (for a Thousand Pennies). His rather complex novel Le voleur de nostalgie is a tribute to the Italian writer Italo Calvino
. He is also one of the Papous dans la tête, the cult literary quiz of France Culture
, the French cultural radio station.
He became in 2002 a daily contributor to the website of the newspaper Le Monde
with a short satirical chronicle called Papier de verre (glass paper).
One of his most recent publication is Esthétique de l’Oulipo (The Aesthetics of Oulipo), a very personal take on literature under constraint, considered from a linguistic perspective.
Four of his books are being translated into English in 2011, from Enough about love (Other Press) to The Sextine Chapel (Dalkey Archive).
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, and a member of the international literary group Oulipo
Oulipo
Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
(Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, which translates roughly as "workshop of potential literature"). Other notable members have included Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau was a French poet and novelist and the co-founder of Ouvroir de littérature potentielle .-Biography:Born in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, Queneau was the only child of Auguste Queneau and Joséphine Mignot...
, Georges Perec
Georges Perec
Georges Perec was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist and essayist. He is a member of the Oulipo group...
, Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
, Jacques Roubaud
Jacques Roubaud
Jacques Roubaud is a French poet and mathematician.Jacques Roubaud is a professor of poetry at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and he was a professor of Mathematics at University of Paris X...
, Jean Lescure
Jean Lescure
- Biography :In 1938 Jean Lescure published his first plaquette of poems, "Le voyage immobile", and launched the review "Messages" ....
and Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews is an American author of various novels, volumes of poetry and short fiction, and essays.-Life:Born in New York City to an upper class family, Mathews was educated at private schools there and at the Groton School in Massachusetts before enrolling at Princeton University in 1947...
.
Biography
Born in Paris, Le Tellier started his career as a scientific journalist, and joined OulipoOulipo
Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
in 1992. As an author, he came to general attention in 1998 with the publication in France of his book Les amnésiques n'ont rien vécu d'inoubliable, a collection of one thousand very short sentences all beginning with "Je pense que" (I think that), published in English as A Thousand Pearls (for a Thousand Pennies). His rather complex novel Le voleur de nostalgie is a tribute to the Italian writer Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
. He is also one of the Papous dans la tête, the cult literary quiz of France Culture
France Culture
France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes , as well as literary readings, radio plays, and experimental productions...
, the French cultural radio station.
He became in 2002 a daily contributor to the website of the newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
with a short satirical chronicle called Papier de verre (glass paper).
One of his most recent publication is Esthétique de l’Oulipo (The Aesthetics of Oulipo), a very personal take on literature under constraint, considered from a linguistic perspective.
Four of his books are being translated into English in 2011, from Enough about love (Other Press) to The Sextine Chapel (Dalkey Archive).
His books
- Sonates de bar, short stories, 1991.
- Le voleur de nostalgie, novel, 1992.
- La disparition de Perek, 1997.
- Les amnésiques n'ont rien vécu d'inoubliable, 1998 (A Thousand Pearls (for a Thousand Pennies))
- Inukshuk, 1998, videograms by Jean-Baptiste DecavèleJean-Baptiste DecavèleJean-Baptiste Decavele is a French video artist.-Biography:Born in Grenoble in 1961, Decavele works with representations of memory and effacement through video and photography....
. - Joconde jusqu'à cent, 1999.
- Zindien, 2000, poetry, illustrated by Henri Cueco.
- Encyclopaedia Inutilis, short stories, 2002.
- Joconde sur votre indulgence, 2002.
- Cités de mémoire, 2003, (Sighted cities)
- La chapelle Sextine, novel, 2005, (The Sextine Chapel).
- Esthétique de l'Oulipo, essay, 2006.
- Je m'attache très facilement, novel, 2007, (The Intervention of a Good Man).
- Les opossums célèbres, poetry, portmanteau words, illustrated by Xavier Gorce, 2007.
- Assez parlé d'amour, novel, Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès, 2009 (Enough About Love).
- L'herbier des villes, urban haïkaï, Éditions Textuel, 2010.
- Eléctrico W, novel, Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès, 2011.
in English
- The Sextine Chapel, Dalkey Archive PressDalkey Archive PressDalkey Archive Press is a publisher of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism in Illinois in the United States, specializing in the publication or republication of lesser known, often avant-garde works...
, 2011. ISBN 9781564785756 - A Thousand Pearls (for a Thousand Pennies), Dalkey Archive PressDalkey Archive PressDalkey Archive Press is a publisher of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism in Illinois in the United States, specializing in the publication or republication of lesser known, often avant-garde works...
, 2011, ISBN 1564786366. - Enough About Love, Other Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-59051-399-6
- The Intervention of a Good Man, Other Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-59051-492-4
in English, with Oulipo
- Oulipo Compendium, Atlas PressAtlas PressAtlas Press began publishing in 1983, and specialises in extremist and avant-garde prose writing from the 1890s to the present day. Atlas Press is the largest publisher in English of books on Surrealism and has an extensive list relating to Dada, Surrealism, Expressionism, the Oulipo, the Collège...
, 1998 - Winter Journeys, Atlas PressAtlas PressAtlas Press began publishing in 1983, and specialises in extremist and avant-garde prose writing from the 1890s to the present day. Atlas Press is the largest publisher in English of books on Surrealism and has an extensive list relating to Dada, Surrealism, Expressionism, the Oulipo, the Collège...
, 2000
External links
- Drunken Boat page about Oulipo and excerpts from Sighted cities
- Oulipo Compendium excerpts from All our thoughts
- Hervé Le Tellier at Oulipo in New York
- An interview for Sampsonia Way
- http://www.bookforum.com/index.php?pn=interview&id=7852An interview for BookforumBookforumBookforum is a New York-based magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. It is edited by Albert Mobilio, Chris Lehmann, , and Michael Miller.-History: Bookforum was launched in 1994 as a literary supplement to Artforum...
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