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{{Short description|French novelist and poet (1903–1976)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2016}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Raymond Queneau
| name = Raymond Queneau
| image = Raymond Queneau photo.jpg
| image = Raymond Queneau photo.jpg
| imagesize =
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| caption =
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| pseudonym =
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| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1903|02|21}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1903|02|21}}
| birth_place = [[Le Havre]], France
| birth_place = [[Le Havre]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1976|10|25|1903|02|21}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1976|10|25|1903|02|21}}
| death_place = Paris, France
| death_place = Paris, [[French Fifth Republic|France]]
| occupation = Novelist, Poet
| occupation = Novelist, Poet
| nationality = French
| nationality = French
| period =
| period =
| genre =
| genre =
| education = [[University of Paris]]
| education = [[University of Paris]]
| subject =
| subject =
| movement =
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| notableworks =
| notableworks =
| influences =
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| spouse = Janine Kahn
| signature = SignatureQueneau.jpg
| signature = SignatureQueneau.jpg
| website =
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}}
}}


⚫
'''Raymond Queneau''' ({{IPA|fr|ʁɛmɔ̃ kəno|lang}}; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Cyclopedia of World Authors|last=Magill|first=Frank|publisher=Salem Press|year=1997|location=California|pages=1660}}</ref> and co-founder and president of [[Oulipo]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Oulipo Compedium|last=Mathews|first=Harry|publisher=Atlas Press|year=1998|isbn=1-900565-18-8|location=London|pages=14}}</ref> ({{lang|fr|Ouvroir de littérature potentielle}}), notable for his wit and cynical humour.
{{French literature sidebar}}
⚫
'''Raymond Queneau''' ({{IPA-fr|ʁɛmɔ̃ kəno|lang}}; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Cyclopedia of World Authors|last=Magill|first=Frank|publisher=Salem Press|year=1997|isbn=|location=California|pages=1660}}</ref> and co-founder and president of [[Oulipo]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Oulipo Compedium|last=Mathews|first=Harry|publisher=Atlas Press|year=1998|isbn=1-900565-18-8|location=London|pages=14}}</ref> (''[[Ouvroir de littérature potentielle]]''), notable for his wit and cynical humour.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Queneau was born at 47, rue Thiers (now Avenue René-Coty), [[Le Havre]], [[Seine-Maritime]],<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Queneau performed military service as a ''[[zouave]]'' in [[Algeria]] and [[Morocco]] during the years 1925–26.<ref name=":2">
Queneau was born at 47, rue Thiers (now Avenue René-Coty), [[Le Havre]], [[Seine-Inférieure]],<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Queneau performed military service as a ''[[zouave]]'' in [[Algeria]] and [[Morocco]] during the years 1925–26.<ref name=":2">
{{Cite book
{{Cite book
|title=Raymond Queneau
|title=Raymond Queneau
|url=https://archive.org/details/raymondqueneau0000thih
|url-access=registration
|last=Thiher
|last=Thiher
|first=Allen
|first=Allen
|publisher=Twayne Publisher
|publisher=Twayne Publisher
|year=1985 |isbn=
|year=1985
|location=Boston |pages=2
|location=Boston |pages=[https://archive.org/details/raymondqueneau0000thih/page/2 2]
|isbn=9780805766134
}}
}}
</ref>
</ref>
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?" for the daily ''Intransigeant''.<ref name=":0" /> Queneau was drafted in August 1939 and served in small provincial towns before his promotion to corporal just before being demobilized in 1940.<ref name=":0" /> After a prolific career of writing, editing and critique, Queneau died on 25 October 1976.<ref name=":2" />
During the 1920s and 1930s Queneau took odd jobs for income such as bank teller, tutor, translator and some writing in a column entitled, {{lang|fr|"Connaissez-vous Paris?"}} ('Do you know Paris?') for the daily, ''[[L'Intransigeant]]''.<ref name=":0" />

⚫
He married Janine Kahn (1903–1972) in 1928 after returning to Paris from his first military service.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Janine Queneau (1903–1972)|url=https://data.bnf.fr/fr/11032009/janine_queneau/|access-date=2021-10-28|website=data.bnf.fr|language=fr}}</ref> Kahn was the sister-in-law of [[André Breton]], leader of the surrealist movement.<ref name=":0" /> In 1934 they had a son, Jean-Marie, who became a painter.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Magill|first=Frank Northen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V2wYAAAAIAAJ|title=Cyclopedia of World Authors II|date=1989|publisher=Salem Press|isbn=978-0-89356-516-9|language=en}}</ref>


Queneau was drafted in August 1939 and served in small provincial towns before his promotion to corporal just before being demobilized in 1940.<ref name=":0" /> After a prolific career of writing, editing and critique, Queneau died on 25 October 1976.<ref name=":2" /> He is buried with his parents in the old cemetery of [[Juvisy-sur-Orge]], in [[Essonne]] outside Paris.
==Marriage and family==
⚫
He married Janine Kahn in 1928 after returning to Paris from his first military service.<ref name=":0" /> Kahn was the sister-in-law of [[André Breton]], leader of the surrealist movement.<ref name=":0" /> In 1934 they had a son, Jean-Marie, who became a painter. They remained married until Janine's death in 1972.{{cn|date=January 2019}}


==Career==
==Career==
Queneau spent much of his life working for the [[Gallimard]] publishing house, where he began as a reader in 1938. He later rose to be general secretary and eventually became director of ''l'Encyclopédie de la Pléiade'' in 1956. During some of this time, he also taught at l'École Nouvelle de Neuilly. He entered the [['Pataphysics|Collège de ‘Pataphysique]] in 1950, where he became [[Satrap]].
Queneau spent much of his life working for the [[Gallimard]] publishing house, where he began as a reader in 1938. He later rose to be general secretary and eventually became director of ''l'Encyclopédie de la Pléiade'' in 1956. During some of this time, he also taught at l'École Nouvelle de Neuilly. He entered the [['Pataphysics|Collège de 'Pataphysique]] in 1950, where he became [[Satrap]].


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In 1950, [[Juliette Gréco]] recorded "Si tu t'imagines", a song by [[Joseph Kosma]] with lyrics by Queneau.
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[[File:Raymond Queneau S.jpg|thumb|<div align="center">Effigy of Raymond Queneau, Satrap of Collège de ‘Pataphysique, by [[Jean-Max Albert]] Rt</div>]]


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[[File:Raymond Queneau S.jpg|thumb|<div align="center">Effigy of Raymond Queneau, Satrap of Collège de 'Pataphysique, by [[Jean-Max Albert]] Rt</div>]]
⚫
During this time, Queneau also acted as a [[translation|translator]], notably for [[Amos Tutuola]]'s ''[[The Palm-Wine Drinkard]]'' (''L'Ivrogne dans la brousse'') in 1953. Additionally, he edited and published [[Alexandre Kojève]]'s lectures on [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]]'s ''Phenomenology of Spirit''. Queneau had been a student of Kojève during the 1930s and was, during this period, also close to writer [[Georges Bataille]].


⚫
During this time, Queneau also acted as a [[translator]], notably for [[Amos Tutuola]]'s ''[[The Palm-Wine Drinkard]]'' ({{lang|fr|L'Ivrogne dans la brousse}}) in 1953. Additionally, he edited and published [[Alexandre Kojève]]'s lectures on [[Hegel]]'s ''Phenomenology of Spirit''. Queneau had been a student of Kojève during the 1930s and was, during this period, also close to writer [[Georges Bataille]].
⚫
As an author, Queneau came to general attention in France with the publication in 1959 of his novel ''[[Zazie in the metro|Zazie dans le métro]]''.<ref name=":0" /> In 1960 the film adaptation directed by [[Louis Malle]] was released during the ''[[French New Wave|Nouvelle Vague]]'' movement. ''Zazie'' explores colloquial language as opposed to "standard" written French. The first word of the book, the alarmingly long "Doukipudonktan" is a [[phonetics|phonetic]] transcription of "D'où qu'ils puent donc tant?" – "From where do they stink so much?".


⚫
As an author, Queneau came to general attention in France with the publication in 1959 of his novel ''[[Zazie dans le Métro (novel)|Zazie dans le métro]]''.<ref name=":0" /> In 1960 [[Zazie dans le Métro|the film adaptation]] directed by [[Louis Malle]] was released during the ''[[Nouvelle Vague]]'' movement. ''Zazie'' explores colloquial language as opposed to "standard" written French. The first word of the book, the alarmingly long "Doukipudonktan" is a playful [[phonetic]] transcription of "D'où qu'il pue / qu'ils puent donc tant?" – "Why does it / does he / do they stink so much?"
⚫
[[Juliette Gréco]] popularized the song "Si tu t'imagines", a song by [[Joseph Kosma]], with lyrics by Queneau.


Before he founded the [[Oulipo|Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (Oulipo)]] in 1960,<ref name=":1" /> Queneau was attracted to mathematics as a source of inspiration. He became a member of la [[Société Mathématique de France]] in 1948. In Queneau's mind, elements of a text, including seemingly trivial details such as the number of chapters, were things that had to be predetermined, perhaps calculated. This was an issue during the writing of ''A [[Hundred Thousand Billion Poems]]'', also known as, 100,000,000,000,000 Poems.<ref name=":1" /> Queneau wrote 140 lines in 10 individual sonnets that could all be taken apart and rearranged in any order. Queneau calculated that anyone reading the book 24 hours a day would need 190,258,751 years to finish it.<ref name=":1" /> While Queneau was completing this work, he asked mathematician [[François Le Lionnais]] for help with issues he was having, and their conversation led to a role of mathematics in literature, which led to the creation of the [[Oulipo]].<ref name=":1" />
Before he founded the {{lang|fr|[[Ouvroir de littérature potentielle]]}} (Oulipo) in 1960,<ref name=":1" /> Queneau was attracted to mathematics as a source of inspiration. He became a member of la [[Société Mathématique de France]] in 1948. In Queneau's mind, elements of a text, including seemingly trivial details such as the number of chapters, were things that had to be predetermined, perhaps calculated. This was an issue during the writing of ''A [[Hundred Thousand Billion Poems]]'', also known as ''100,000,000,000,000 Poems''.<ref name=":1" /> Queneau wrote 140 lines in 10 individual sonnets that could all be taken apart and rearranged in any order. Queneau calculated that anyone reading the book 24 hours a day would need 190,258,751 years to finish it.<ref name=":1" /> While Queneau was completing this work, he asked mathematician [[François Le Lionnais]] for help with issues he was having, and their conversation led to a role of mathematics in literature, which led to the creation of the [[Oulipo]].<ref name=":1" /> His work encouraged [[Jacques Lacan]] to pursue his pioneering work on game theory and the use of mathematics in psychoanalysis.<ref>"The
Number Thirteen and the Logical Form of Suspicion"</ref>


A later work, ''Les fondements de la littérature d'après David Hilbert'' (1976), alludes to the mathematician [[David Hilbert]], and attempts to explore the foundations of literature by quasi-mathematical derivations from textual axioms. Queneau claimed this final work would prove "a hidden master of the automaton." Pressed by GF, his interlocutor, Queneau confided that the text "could never appear, but had to hide to glorify that without agency." A conference on the matter will be held in Coral Gables, FL.
A later work, {{lang|fr|Les fondements de la littérature d'après David Hilbert}} (1976), alludes to the mathematician [[David Hilbert]], and attempts to explore the foundations of literature by quasi-mathematical derivations from textual axioms. Queneau claimed this final work would prove "a hidden master of the automaton." Pressed by GF, his interlocutor, Queneau confided that the text "could never appear, but had to hide to glorify that without agency."


One of Queneau's most influential works is ''[[Exercises in Style]]'', which tells the simple story of a man's seeing the same stranger twice in one day. It tells that short story in 99 different ways, demonstrating the tremendous variety of styles in which storytelling can take place. A graphical story adaptation of the book's concept, ''[[99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style]]'', was published by the American [[Matt Madden]] in 2005.
One of Queneau's most influential works is ''[[Exercises in Style]]'', which tells the simple story of a man's seeing the same stranger twice in one day. It tells that short story in 99 different ways, demonstrating the tremendous variety of styles in which storytelling can take place. An excerpt from this piece was published in [[0 to 9 Magazine|0 to 9 magazine]], a 1960s publication which experimented with language and meaning-making.


The works of Raymond Queneau are published by [[Gallimard]] in the collection ''[[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade]]''.
The works of Raymond Queneau are published by [[Gallimard]] in the collection ''[[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade]]''.

Queneau is buried with his parents in the old cemetery of [[Juvisy-sur-Orge]], in [[Essonne]] outside Paris.


==Queneau and Surrealists==
==Queneau and Surrealists==
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Queneau questioned Surrealist support of the USSR in 1926. He remained on cordial terms with [[André Breton]],<ref name=":2" /> although he also continued associating with Simone Kahn after Breton split up with her. Breton usually demanded that his followers ostracize his former girlfriends. It would have been difficult for Queneau to avoid Simone, however, since he married her sister, Janine, in 1928.<ref name=":0" /> The year that Breton left Simone, she sometimes traveled around France with her sister and Queneau.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
Queneau questioned Surrealist support of the USSR in 1926. He remained on cordial terms with [[André Breton]],<ref name=":2" /> although he also continued associating with Simone Kahn after Breton split up with her. Breton usually demanded that his followers ostracize his former girlfriends. It would have been difficult for Queneau to avoid Simone, however, since he married her sister, Janine, in 1928.<ref name=":0" /> The year that Breton left Simone, she sometimes traveled around France with her sister and Queneau.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}


By 1930, Queneau separated himself significantly from Breton and the Surrealists.<ref name=":0" /> Eluard, Aragon and Breton had joined the French Communist party in 1927; Queneau did not, and instead participated in ''[[Un Cadavre]]'' (A Corpse, 1930), a vehemently anti-Breton pamphlet co-written by [[Georges Bataille|Bataille]], [[Leiris]], [[Prévert]], [[Alejo Carpentier]], [[Jacques Baron]], J.-A. Boiffard, [[Robert Desnos]], [[Georges Limbour]], [[Max Morise]], [[Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes]], and [[Roger Vitrac]].{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
By 1930, Queneau separated himself significantly from Breton and the Surrealists.<ref name=":0" /> Eluard, Aragon and Breton had joined the French Communist party in 1927; Queneau did not, and instead participated in ''[[Un Cadavre]]'' (A Corpse, 1930), a vehemently anti-Breton pamphlet co-written by [[Georges Bataille|Bataille]], [[Leiris]], [[Prévert]], [[Alejo Carpentier]], [[Jacques Baron]], [[Jacques-André Boiffard|J.-A. Boiffard]], [[Robert Desnos]], [[Georges Limbour]], [[Max Morise]], [[Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes]], and [[Roger Vitrac]].{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}


Queneau also joined the [[Democratic Communist Circle]] founded by [[Boris Souvarine]] and took up numerous left-wing and anti-fascist causes.<ref name="Galvin">{{cite book |last1=Galvin |first1=Rachel |title=News of War: Civilian Poetry 1936–1945 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=209–210}}</ref> He defended the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] in France and the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]] during the Spanish Civil War.<ref name="Galvin" /> Under the Nazi occupation of France, he published in many left-wing journals associated with the [[French Resistance|Resistance]]. After World War II, Queneau continued to lend his support left-wing manifestos and petitions, and condemned [[McCarthyism]] and anti-communist persecution in Greece.<ref name="Galvin" />
Queneau also joined the [[Democratic Communist Circle]] founded by [[Boris Souvarine]] and took up numerous left-wing and anti-fascist causes.<ref name="Galvin">{{cite book |last1=Galvin |first1=Rachel |title=News of War: Civilian Poetry 1936–1945 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=209–210}}</ref> He defended the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] in France and the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republicans]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref name="Galvin" /> Under the [[Nazi occupation of France]], he published in many left-wing journals associated with the [[French Resistance|Resistance]]. After World War II, Queneau continued to lend his support left-wing manifestos and petitions, and condemned [[McCarthyism]] and anti-communist persecution in Greece.<ref name="Galvin" />


He wrote more scientific than literary reviews: on [[Ivan Pavlov|Pavlov]], on [[Vladimir Vernadsky|Vernadsky]] (from whom he got a circular theory of sciences), and a review of a book on the history of equestrian [[caparisons]] by an artillery officer. He also helped with writing passages on Engels and a mathematical dialectic for Bataille's article, "A critique of the foundations of Hegelian dialectic."{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
He wrote more scientific than literary reviews: on [[Ivan Pavlov|Pavlov]], [[Vladimir Vernadsky|Vernadsky]] (from whom he got a circular theory of sciences), and a review of a book on the history of equestrian [[caparisons]] by an artillery officer. He also helped with writing passages on Engels and a mathematical dialectic for Bataille's article, "A critique of the foundations of Hegelian dialectic."{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

[[Jacques Lacan]] became seriously interested in mathematics, and made early contributions to game theory, after reading Queneau's works.<ref>Pierre Courtois, Tarik Tazdaït. Jacques Lacan and game theory: an early contribution to common
knowledge reasoning. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2021, 28 (5), pp.844–869.
ff10.1080/09672567.2021.1908392ff. ffhal-03179414f</ref>


==Legacy and honors==
==Legacy and honors==
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===Novels===
===Novels===
* ''Le Chiendent'' (1933) – (''The Bark-Tree''), {{ISBN|1-59017-031-8}} (as ''Witch Grass'')
* ''Le Chiendent'' (1933). ''The Bark-Tree,'' trans. [[Barbara Wright (translator)|Barbara Wright]] (Calder & Boyars, 1968); later published as ''Witch Grass'' (New York Review Books, 2003; {{ISBN|1-59017-031-8}})
* ''Gueule de pierre'' (1934) – (''Gob of Stone'').
* ''Gueule de pierre'' (1934). ''Gob of Stone''
* ''Les derniers jours'' (1936) – (''The Last Days''), {{ISBN|1-56478-140-2}}
* ''Les Derniers Jours'' (1936). ''The Last Days'', trans. Barbara Wright (Dalkey Archive, 1990; {{ISBN|1-56478-140-2}})
* ''Odile'' (1937) – {{ISBN|0-916583-34-1}}
* ''Odile'' (1937). Trans. Carol Sanders (Dalkey Archive, 1988; {{ISBN|0-916583-34-1}})
* ''Les enfants du Limon'' (1938) – (''Children of Clay''), {{ISBN|1-55713-272-0}}
* ''Les Enfants du Limon'' (1938). ''Children of Clay'', trans. Madeleine Velguth (Sun & Moon, 1998; {{ISBN|1-55713-272-0}})
* ''Un rude hiver'' (1939) – (''A Hard Winter'', 1948)
* ''Un rude hiver'' (1939). ''A Hard Winter'', trans. Betty Askwith (J. Lehmann, 1948)
* ''Les temps mêlés'' (1941) – (''Gueule de Pierre II'')
* ''Les Temps mêlés'' ''(Gueule de Pierre II)'' (1941)
* ''Pierrot mon ami'' (1942) – (''Pierrot''), {{ISBN|1-56478-397-9}}
* ''Pierrot mon ami'' (1942). ''Pierrot'', trans. Julian Maclaren-Ross (J. Lehmann, 1950) and Barbara Wright (Dalkey Archive, 1987; {{ISBN|1-56478-397-9}})
* ''Loin de Rueil'' (1944) – (''The Skin of Dreams''), {{ISBN|0-947757-16-3}} – Literal translation: ''Far From [[Rueil-Malmaison|Rueil]]''.
* ''Loin de [[Rueil]]'' (1944). ''The Skin of Dreams'', trans. H.J. Kaplan (New Directions, 1948; {{ISBN|0-947757-16-3}}) and Chris Clarke (New York Review Books, 2024; {{ISBN|9781681377704}})
* ''On est toujours trop bon avec les femmes'' (1947) – (''We Always Treat Women Too Well''), {{ISBN|1-59017-030-X}}
* ''On est toujours trop bon avec les femmes'' (1947). ''We Always Treat Women Too Well'', trans. Barbara Wright (J. Calder, 1981; {{ISBN|1-59017-030-X}})
* ''[[Saint Glinglin (book)|Saint Glinglin]]'' (1948) – {{ISBN|1-56478-230-1}} – (''[[Saint Glinglin (book)|Saint Glinglin]]''), {{ISBN|1-56478027-9}}
* ''[[Saint Glinglin (book)|Saint-Glinglin]]'' (1948). Trans. James Sallis (Dalkey Archive, 1993; {{ISBN|1-56478027-9}})
* ''Le journal intime de Sally Mara'' (1950)
* ''Le Journal intime de Sally Mara'' (1950)
* ''Le dimanche de la vie'' (1952) – (''The Sunday of Life''), {{ISBN|0-8112-0646-7}}
* ''Le Dimanche de la vie'' (1952). ''The Sunday of Life'', trans. Barbara Wright (J. Calder, 1976; {{ISBN|0-8112-0646-7}})
* ''Zazie dans le métro'' (1959) – (''[[Zazie in the Metro]]''), {{ISBN|0-14-218004-1}}
* ''Zazie dans le métro'' (1959). ''[[Zazie dans le Métro (novel)|Zazie in the Metro]]'', trans. Barbara Wright (Harper, 1960; {{ISBN|0-14-218004-1}})
* ''Les fleurs bleues'' (1965) – (''[[The Blue Flowers]]'' or ''Between Blue and Blue''), {{ISBN|0-8112-0945-8}}
* ''Les Fleurs bleues'' (1965). ''[[The Blue Flowers]]'', trans. Barbara Wright (Atheneum, 1967; {{ISBN|0-8112-0945-8}}); also published as ''Between Blue and Blue'' (The Bodley Head, 1967)
* ''Le vol d'Icare'' (1968) – (''The Flight of Icarus (closet screenplay)''), {{ISBN|0-8112-0483-9}}
* ''Le Vol d'Icare'' (1968). ''The Flight of Icarus'', trans. Barbara Wright (Calder & Boyars, 1973; {{ISBN|0-8112-0483-9}})


===Poetry===
===Poetry===
* ''Chêne et chien'' (1937), {{ISBN|0-8204-2311-4}}
* ''Chêne et chien'' (1937). Trans. Madeleine Velguth (P. Lang, 1995; {{ISBN|0-8204-2311-4}})
* ''Les Ziaux'' (1943)
* ''Les Ziaux'' (1943)
* ''L'Instant fatal'' (1946)
* ''L'Instant fatal'' (1946)
* ''Petite cosmogonie portative'' (1950)
* ''Petite cosmogonie portative'' (1950)
* ''Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes'' ''([[Hundred Thousand Billion Poems]])'' (1961)
* ''Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes'' (1961). ''[[Hundred Thousand Billion Poems]]''
* ''Le chien à la mandoline'' (1965)
* ''Le chien à la mandoline'' (1965)
* ''Battre la campagne'' ''(Beating the Bushes)'' (1967), {{ISBN|0-87775-172-2}}
* ''Battre la campagne'' (1967). ''Beating the Bushes''
* ''Courir les rues'' ''(Pounding the Pavements)'' (1967), {{ISBN|0-87775-172-2}}
* ''Courir les rues'' (1967). ''Hitting the Streets'', trans. Rachel Galvin (Carcanet, 2013)
* ''Fendre les flots'' (1969)
* ''Fendre les flots'' (1969)
* ''Morale élémentaire'' ''(Elementary Morality)'' (1975)
* ''Morale élémentaire'' (1975). ''Elementary Morality''


===Essays and articles===
===Essays and articles===
* Joan Miró; ou, Le poète préhistorique (1949)
* ''Bâtons, chiffres et lettres'' (1950)
* ''Bâtons, chiffres et lettres'' (1950)
* ''Pour une bibliothèque idéale'' or ''For an Ars Poetica'' (1956)
* ''Pour une bibliothèque idéale'' or ''For an Ars Poetica'' (1956)
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* ''Un Cadavre'' (1930) with Jacques Baron, [[Georges Bataille]], J.-A. Boiffard, [[Robert Desnos]], Michel Leiris, Georges Limbour, Max Morise, [[Jacques Prévert]], Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, and [[Roger Vitrac]].
* ''Un Cadavre'' (1930) with Jacques Baron, [[Georges Bataille]], J.-A. Boiffard, [[Robert Desnos]], Michel Leiris, Georges Limbour, Max Morise, [[Jacques Prévert]], Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, and [[Roger Vitrac]].
* ''En passant'' (1944) – theatre.
* ''En passant'' (1944) – theatre.
* ''Exercices de style'' ''([[Exercises in Style]])'' (1947), {{ISBN|0-7145-4238-5}}
* ''Exercices de style'' (1947). ''[[Exercises in Style]]'', trans. Barbara Wright (Gaberbocchus Press, 1958; {{ISBN|0-7145-4238-5}})
* ''La Mort en ce Jardin'' ''([[Death in the Garden]])'' (1956) – with [[Luis Buñuel]], screenplay for the movie produced in Mexico.
* ''La Mort en ce Jardin'' (1956). ''[[Death in the Garden]]'' – with [[Luis Buñuel]], screenplay for the Franco-Mexican film production.
* ''Les fondements de la littérature d'après [[David Hilbert]]'' (1976)
* ''Les fondements de la littérature d'après [[David Hilbert]]'' (1976)
* ''Contes et propos'' (1981) – a collection of short tales or sketches.
* ''Contes et propos'' (1981) – a collection of short tales or sketches.
* ''Journal 1939–1940'' (1986)
* ''Journal 1939–1940'' (1986)
* ''Journaux 1914–1965'' (1996)
* ''Journaux 1914–1965'' (1996)

=== Compilations in English ===

* ''The Trojan Horse & At the Edge of the Forest'' (Gaberbocchus Press, 1954). Trans. Barbara Wright.
*''Pounding the Pavements, Beating the Bushes, and Other Pataphysical Poems'' (Unicorn Press, 1985). Trans. Teo Savory. {{ISBN|0-87775-172-2}}
* ''Five Stories'' (Obscure Publications, 2000). Trans. Barbara Wright. Compiles: "Panic"; "Dino"; "At the Edge of the Forest"; "A Blue Funk"; and "The Trojan Horse"
*''Stories & Remarks'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2000). Trans. Marc Lowenthal.
*''Letters, Numbers, Forms: Essays, 1928–70'' (University of Illinois Press, 2007). Trans. Jordan Stump.
*''EyeSeas: Selected Poems'' (Black Widow Press, 2008). Trans. Daniela Hurezanu and Stephen Kessler.


==In other art==
==In other art==
* ''[[Zazie dans le métro (film)|Zazie dans le métro]]'' (1960), released as film adaptation
* ''[[Zazie dans le métro]]'' (1960), released as film adaptation
* [[Pierre Bastien]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pierrebastien.com/en/discography.html |title=Discography |website=Pierrebastien.com |accessdate=2016-04-21}}</ref> has made a CD with the [[bilingual pun]] title ''Eggs Air Sister Steel'', based on ''Exercices de Style'' (which "Eggs Air Sister Steel" sounds like when spoken).
* [[Pierre Bastien]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pierrebastien.com/en/discography.html |title=Discography |website=Pierrebastien.com |access-date=2016-04-21}}</ref> has made a CD with the [[bilingual pun]] title ''Eggs Air Sister Steel'', based on ''Exercices de Style'' (which "Eggs Air Sister Steel" sounds like when spoken).
* A [[typographic]] interpretation of the German version of ''Exercices de Style'', [http://marcuskraft.net/portfolio/stiluebungen.html "Stilübungen – visuelle Interpretationen"] by the graphic designer [http://marcuskraft.net Marcus Kraft], was published in 2006.
* A [[typographic]] interpretation of the German version of ''Exercices de Style'', [http://marcuskraft.net/portfolio/stiluebungen.html "Stilübungen – visuelle Interpretationen"] by the graphic designer [http://marcuskraft.net Marcus Kraft], was published in 2006.
* Spanish-Canadian composer [[José Evangelista]] wrote the song cycle "Exercises de style" setting texts from the Queneau's titular book in 1997.
* Spanish-Canadian composer [[José Evangelista]] wrote the song cycle "Exercises de style" setting texts from Queneau's titular book in 1997.


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Georges Perec]]
* [[Georges Perec]]
* [[Miroglyph]]


==References==
==References==
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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* [http://www.worldcat.org/title/raymond-queneau/oclc/603638581&referer=brief_results ''Raymond Queneau''] by [[Richard Cobb]] (Clarendon, 1976)
* [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/603638581 ''Raymond Queneau''] by [[Richard Cobb]] (Clarendon, 1976)


==External links==
==External links==
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* {{IMDb name|id=nm0703200}}
* {{IMDb name|id=nm0703200}}


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{{Surrealism}}
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[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Le Havre]]
[[Category:Writers from Le Havre]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Oulipo members]]
[[Category:Oulipo members]]

Latest revision as of 11:32, 30 October 2024

Raymond Queneau
Born(1903-02-21)21 February 1903
Le Havre, France
Died25 October 1976(1976-10-25) (aged 73)
Paris, France
OccupationNovelist, Poet
NationalityFrench
EducationUniversity of Paris
SpouseJanine Kahn
Signature

Raymond Queneau (French: [ʁɛmɔ̃ kəno]; 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

[edit]

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.[5]

Queneau was drafted in August 1939 and served in small provincial towns before his promotion to corporal just before being demobilized in 1940.[1] After a prolific career of writing, editing and critique, Queneau died on 25 October 1976.[3] He is buried with his parents in the old cemetery of Juvisy-sur-Orge, in Essonne outside Paris.

Career

[edit]

Queneau spent much of his life working for the Gallimard publishing house, where he began as a reader in 1938. He later rose to be general secretary and eventually became director of l'Encyclopédie de la Pléiade in 1956. During some of this time, he also taught at l'École Nouvelle de Neuilly. He entered the Collège de 'Pataphysique in 1950, where he became Satrap.

In 1950, Juliette Gréco recorded "Si tu t'imagines", a song by Joseph Kosma with lyrics by Queneau.

Effigy of Raymond Queneau, Satrap of Collège de 'Pataphysique, by Jean-Max Albert Rt

During this time, Queneau also acted as a translator, notably for Amos Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drinkard (L'Ivrogne dans la brousse) in 1953. Additionally, he edited and published Alexandre Kojève's lectures on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Queneau had been a student of Kojève during the 1930s and was, during this period, also close to writer Georges Bataille.

As an author, Queneau came to general attention in France with the publication in 1959 of his novel Zazie dans le métro.[1] In 1960 the film adaptation directed by Louis Malle was released during the Nouvelle Vague movement. Zazie explores colloquial language as opposed to "standard" written French. The first word of the book, the alarmingly long "Doukipudonktan" is a playful phonetic transcription of "D'où qu'il pue / qu'ils puent donc tant?" – "Why does it / does he / do they stink so much?"

Before he founded the Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (Oulipo) in 1960,[2] Queneau was attracted to mathematics as a source of inspiration. He became a member of la Société Mathématique de France in 1948. In Queneau's mind, elements of a text, including seemingly trivial details such as the number of chapters, were things that had to be predetermined, perhaps calculated. This was an issue during the writing of A Hundred Thousand Billion Poems, also known as 100,000,000,000,000 Poems.[2] Queneau wrote 140 lines in 10 individual sonnets that could all be taken apart and rearranged in any order. Queneau calculated that anyone reading the book 24 hours a day would need 190,258,751 years to finish it.[2] While Queneau was completing this work, he asked mathematician François Le Lionnais for help with issues he was having, and their conversation led to a role of mathematics in literature, which led to the creation of the Oulipo.[2] His work encouraged Jacques Lacan to pursue his pioneering work on game theory and the use of mathematics in psychoanalysis.[6]

A later work, Les fondements de la littérature d'après David Hilbert (1976), alludes to the mathematician David Hilbert, and attempts to explore the foundations of literature by quasi-mathematical derivations from textual axioms. Queneau claimed this final work would prove "a hidden master of the automaton." Pressed by GF, his interlocutor, Queneau confided that the text "could never appear, but had to hide to glorify that without agency."

One of Queneau's most influential works is Exercises in Style, which tells the simple story of a man's seeing the same stranger twice in one day. It tells that short story in 99 different ways, demonstrating the tremendous variety of styles in which storytelling can take place. An excerpt from this piece was published in 0 to 9 magazine, a 1960s publication which experimented with language and meaning-making.

The works of Raymond Queneau are published by Gallimard in the collection Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.

Queneau and Surrealists

[edit]

In 1924 Queneau met and briefly joined the Surrealists, but never fully shared their penchants for automatic writing or ultra-left politics. Like many surrealists, he entered psychoanalysis—however, not in order to stimulate his creative abilities, but for personal reasons, as with Leiris, Bataille, and Crevel.[citation needed]

Michel Leiris describes, in Brisees, how he first met Queneau in 1924, while vacationing in Nemours with André Masson, Armand Salacrou and Juan Gris. A common friend, Roland Tual, met Queneau on a train from Le Havre and brought him over. Queneau was a few years younger and felt less accomplished than the other men. He did not make a big impression on the young bohemians. After Queneau came back from the army, around 1926–7, he and Leiris met at the Café Certa, near L'Opera, a Surrealist hang-out. On this occasion, when conversation delved into Eastern philosophy, Queneau's comments showed a quiet superiority and erudite thoughtfulness. Leiris and Queneau became friends later while writing for Bataille's Documents.[citation needed]

Queneau questioned Surrealist support of the USSR in 1926. He remained on cordial terms with André Breton,[3] although he also continued associating with Simone Kahn after Breton split up with her. Breton usually demanded that his followers ostracize his former girlfriends. It would have been difficult for Queneau to avoid Simone, however, since he married her sister, Janine, in 1928.[1] The year that Breton left Simone, she sometimes traveled around France with her sister and Queneau.[citation needed]

By 1930, Queneau separated himself significantly from Breton and the Surrealists.[1] Eluard, Aragon and Breton had joined the French Communist party in 1927; Queneau did not, and instead participated in Un Cadavre (A Corpse, 1930), a vehemently anti-Breton pamphlet co-written by Bataille, Leiris, Prévert, Alejo Carpentier, Jacques Baron, J.-A. Boiffard, Robert Desnos, Georges Limbour, Max Morise, Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, and Roger Vitrac.[citation needed]

Queneau also joined the Democratic Communist Circle founded by Boris Souvarine and took up numerous left-wing and anti-fascist causes.[7] He defended the Popular Front in France and the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.[7] Under the Nazi occupation of France, he published in many left-wing journals associated with the Resistance. After World War II, Queneau continued to lend his support left-wing manifestos and petitions, and condemned McCarthyism and anti-communist persecution in Greece.[7]

He wrote more scientific than literary reviews: on Pavlov, Vernadsky (from whom he got a circular theory of sciences), and a review of a book on the history of equestrian caparisons by an artillery officer. He also helped with writing passages on Engels and a mathematical dialectic for Bataille's article, "A critique of the foundations of Hegelian dialectic."[citation needed]

Jacques Lacan became seriously interested in mathematics, and made early contributions to game theory, after reading Queneau's works.[8]

Legacy and honors

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]

Novels

[edit]
  • Le Chiendent (1933). The Bark-Tree, trans. Barbara Wright (Calder & Boyars, 1968); later published as Witch Grass (New York Review Books, 2003; ISBN 1-59017-031-8)
  • Gueule de pierre (1934). Gob of Stone
  • Les Derniers Jours (1936). The Last Days, trans. Barbara Wright (Dalkey Archive, 1990; ISBN 1-56478-140-2)
  • Odile (1937). Trans. Carol Sanders (Dalkey Archive, 1988; ISBN 0-916583-34-1)
  • Les Enfants du Limon (1938). Children of Clay, trans. Madeleine Velguth (Sun & Moon, 1998; ISBN 1-55713-272-0)
  • Un rude hiver (1939). A Hard Winter, trans. Betty Askwith (J. Lehmann, 1948)
  • Les Temps mêlés (Gueule de Pierre II) (1941)
  • Pierrot mon ami (1942). Pierrot, trans. Julian Maclaren-Ross (J. Lehmann, 1950) and Barbara Wright (Dalkey Archive, 1987; ISBN 1-56478-397-9)
  • Loin de Rueil (1944). The Skin of Dreams, trans. H.J. Kaplan (New Directions, 1948; ISBN 0-947757-16-3) and Chris Clarke (New York Review Books, 2024; ISBN 9781681377704)
  • On est toujours trop bon avec les femmes (1947). We Always Treat Women Too Well, trans. Barbara Wright (J. Calder, 1981; ISBN 1-59017-030-X)
  • Saint-Glinglin (1948). Trans. James Sallis (Dalkey Archive, 1993; ISBN 1-56478027-9)
  • Le Journal intime de Sally Mara (1950)
  • Le Dimanche de la vie (1952). The Sunday of Life, trans. Barbara Wright (J. Calder, 1976; ISBN 0-8112-0646-7)
  • Zazie dans le métro (1959). Zazie in the Metro, trans. Barbara Wright (Harper, 1960; ISBN 0-14-218004-1)
  • Les Fleurs bleues (1965). The Blue Flowers, trans. Barbara Wright (Atheneum, 1967; ISBN 0-8112-0945-8); also published as Between Blue and Blue (The Bodley Head, 1967)
  • Le Vol d'Icare (1968). The Flight of Icarus, trans. Barbara Wright (Calder & Boyars, 1973; ISBN 0-8112-0483-9)

Poetry

[edit]
  • Chêne et chien (1937). Trans. Madeleine Velguth (P. Lang, 1995; ISBN 0-8204-2311-4)
  • Les Ziaux (1943)
  • L'Instant fatal (1946)
  • Petite cosmogonie portative (1950)
  • Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes (1961). Hundred Thousand Billion Poems
  • Le chien à la mandoline (1965)
  • Battre la campagne (1967). Beating the Bushes
  • Courir les rues (1967). Hitting the Streets, trans. Rachel Galvin (Carcanet, 2013)
  • Fendre les flots (1969)
  • Morale élémentaire (1975). Elementary Morality

Essays and articles

[edit]
  • Joan Miró; ou, Le poète préhistorique (1949)
  • Bâtons, chiffres et lettres (1950)
  • Pour une bibliothèque idéale or For an Ars Poetica (1956)
  • Entretiens avec Georges Charbonnier (1962)
  • Bords (1963)
  • Une Histoire modèle (1966)
  • Le Voyage en Grèce (1973)
  • Traité des vertus démocratiques (1955)

Other

[edit]

Compilations in English

[edit]
  • The Trojan Horse & At the Edge of the Forest (Gaberbocchus Press, 1954). Trans. Barbara Wright.
  • Pounding the Pavements, Beating the Bushes, and Other Pataphysical Poems (Unicorn Press, 1985). Trans. Teo Savory. ISBN 0-87775-172-2
  • Five Stories (Obscure Publications, 2000). Trans. Barbara Wright. Compiles: "Panic"; "Dino"; "At the Edge of the Forest"; "A Blue Funk"; and "The Trojan Horse"
  • Stories & Remarks (University of Nebraska Press, 2000). Trans. Marc Lowenthal.
  • Letters, Numbers, Forms: Essays, 1928–70 (University of Illinois Press, 2007). Trans. Jordan Stump.
  • EyeSeas: Selected Poems (Black Widow Press, 2008). Trans. Daniela Hurezanu and Stephen Kessler.

In other art

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Magill, Frank (1997). Cyclopedia of World Authors. California: Salem Press. p. 1660.
  2. ^ a b c d e Mathews, Harry (1998). Oulipo Compedium. London: Atlas Press. p. 14. ISBN 1-900565-18-8.
  3. ^ a b c Thiher, Allen (1985). Raymond Queneau. Boston: Twayne Publisher. pp. 2. ISBN 9780805766134.
  4. ^ "Janine Queneau (1903–1972)". data.bnf.fr (in French). Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  5. ^ Magill, Frank Northen (1989). Cyclopedia of World Authors II. Salem Press. ISBN 978-0-89356-516-9.
  6. ^ "The Number Thirteen and the Logical Form of Suspicion"
  7. ^ a b c Galvin, Rachel (2017). News of War: Civilian Poetry 1936–1945. Oxford University Press. pp. 209–210.
  8. ^ Pierre Courtois, Tarik Tazdaït. Jacques Lacan and game theory: an early contribution to common knowledge reasoning. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 2021, 28 (5), pp.844–869. ff10.1080/09672567.2021.1908392ff. ffhal-03179414f
  9. ^ "Discography". Pierrebastien.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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