Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tools and Operations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Experimentation and the Lyric in Contemporary French Poetry

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Modern European Literature ((PMEL))

Abstract

After reconsidering Claude Lévi-Strauss’ conceptual distinction between the ‘engineer’ and the ‘bricoleur’, this chapter shows how the poets under discussion go beyond the Oulipian enterprise by substituting tools for formal constraints. The chapter demonstrates that the ‘toolbox’ constitutes a fruitful alternative to the traditional ars poetica or the avant-garde manifesto. Techniques of reappropriation, repurposing and decontextualization not only enable these poets to offer an oblique discourse on the poetic subject, but also allow a shift from the document to aesthetics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Claude Lévi-Strauss, La pensée sauvage (Paris: Plon, 1960), 27. Trans. G. Weidenfeld, The Savage Mind (The University of Chicago Press, 1966), 17.

  2. 2.

    Ibid., 25 [14].

  3. 3.

    Ibid.

  4. 4.

    Christelle Reggiani, Rhétorique de la contrainte. Georges Perec -l’Oulipo (Saint-Pierre-du-Mont: Erudit, 1999), 58.

  5. 5.

    Raymond Queneau in Atlas de littérature potentielle (Paris: Gallimard, 1988), 59.

  6. 6.

    Jacques Roubaud, ‘Description d’un projet’ in Mezura, no. 9 (1979): 1–7 (7). In the same article, Roubaud states ‘la notion de structure oulipienne ne s’est pas véritablement dégagée de celle de contrainte’ (the notion of Oulipian structure has not really been differentiated from that of constraint). Ibid.

  7. 7.

    Marjorie Perloff, Radical Artifice: Writing Poetry in the Age of Media (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 139.

  8. 8.

    C. Reig, Mimer, Miner, Rimer: le cycle romanesque de Jacques Roubaud (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006), 331.

  9. 9.

    Olivier Salon, ‘Contrainte est tout contre un terrien’, Revue de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, no. 20 (2005): 40–45 (41–43).

  10. 10.

    In the OuLiPo meeting on April 12, 1962, Claude Berge claimed ‘Nous sommes essentiellement anti-hasard’ (we are essentially anti-chance) about which Queneau clarified ‘Nous sommes peut-être pas ‘anti’. Je préférerais dire que nous manifestons une certaine méfiance à l’égard du hasard’ (Perhaps we are not ‘anti’. I would prefer to say that we demonstrate a certain suspicion in regard to chance). See Hervé Le Tellier, Esthétique de l’Oulipo (Paris: Le Castor Astral, 2006), 29.

  11. 11.

    Laurent Jenny, La parole singulière (Paris: Belin, 1990), 148.

  12. 12.

    Ludwig Wittgenstein, ‘The Blue Book’ in The Blue and Brown Books (New York: Harper and Row, 1958), 67–8.

  13. 13.

    Jenny, La parole, 148.

  14. 14.

    Christian Jacob, ‘L’éloge de la main est aussi celui de la pensée’, in Lieux de savoir, edited by Christian Jacob, vol. 2 (Paris: Albin Michel, 2007), 24.

  15. 15.

    See for instance, Claire Bustarret, ‘couper, coller dans les manuscrits de travail du XVIIIe au XXe’. Ibid., 360.

  16. 16.

    Cadiot , ‘Réenchanter’, 7.

  17. 17.

    Alferi , ‘Mémorandum 2, 1995 Prose’, Une dérive, n.p.

  18. 18.

    Not only do Cadiot and Alferi’s journals imitate the various schemata provided by Schmidt in Calculus, they also tackle writing in terms of techniques, while explicitly revealing the modes of poetic production. See, ‘Calculs’ in Roses et poireau (Paris: Maurice Nadeau, 1998).

  19. 19.

    Pierre Alferi, Le chemin familier du poisson combatif (Paris: P.O.L, 1992), 7.

  20. 20.

    See Bernard Stiegler, ‘Du monde d’existence des objets littéraires’, RLG1, 149.

  21. 21.

    See Denis Roche, ‘Vers la table de montage’. Preface to John Heartfield, Photomontage anti-nazis (Paris Chêne, 1978), 7–13. In reference to Hocquard, Leibovici claims ‘la table, c’est un support, c’est ce qui permet de poser des choses […] la table, c’est en définitive ce qui permet de voir les choses, d’en mettre même plusieurs, de natures différentes, côte-à-côte. la table devient ainsi une technique de visualisation. une “théorie des tables”, c’est ce qu’on fait quand on se pose la question de savoir comment faire apparaître des objets, comment rendre visible des choses qui n’ont à ce jour pas encore de plan, comment les stabiliser.’ in ‘Formes de vies et écosystèmes des oeuvres d’art’, Grégory Castéra: Interview with Franck Leibovici. Trans. David Pickering, ‘Forms of life and ecosystem of an artwork’ (a table is a platform, it is what allows us to set things down: without a base, without a platform, objects would fall to the ground and crumble. a table is definitively what allows us to see things, to put several of different natures side by side. thus the table becomes a visualization technique. a “theory of tables,” is what we do when we ask ourselves how to display objects, how to make things visible which so far don’t have a frame, how to stabilize them). Accessed March 14, 2013. http://www.desformesdevie.org/en/page/interview-franck-leibovici-gr-gory-cast-ra

  22. 22.

    Hocquard , ‘Entretien avec Stéphane Baquey’, in Ma haie, 291.

  23. 23.

    Georges Perec, ‘Still Life/Style Leaf’ in L’infraordinaire (Paris: Seuil, 1989), 107–119. Trans. Henry Mathews, ‘Still Life/Style Leaf’, Yale French Studies no. 61 (1981): 299–305 (299–302).

  24. 24.

    Jean-Michel Maulpoix, ‘La poésie française depuis 1950’. Accessed February 2, 2013. http://www.maulpoix.net/decanter.html

  25. 25.

    Francis Ponge, La Table (Paris: Gallimard, 2002), 63.

  26. 26.

    Ibid.

  27. 27.

    Emmanuel Hocquard, ‘Un malaise grammatical’ in Théorie des Tables (Paris: P. O. L., 1992) n.p., My emphasis. Trans. Michael Palmer, Theory of Tables (Providence: Oblek Editions, 1994), n.p.

  28. 28.

    Michel Foucault, ‘La pensée du dehors’, Dits et écrits, vol. 1, (Paris: Gallimard, 1994) 520. Trans R. Hurley, ‘The Thought of the Outside’ in The Essential Works of Foucault 1954–1984 (London: Penguin, 1998), 149.

  29. 29.

    Emmanuel Hocquard, Conditions de lumière (Paris: P.O.L, 2007), 15. Trans. Jean-Jacques Poucel, Conditions of Light (Fence Books/La Presse, 2010), 15.

  30. 30.

    Hocquard , Théorie des tables, section 15 [15].

  31. 31.

    Ibid., 32 [32].

  32. 32.

    Goldsmith , Uncreative, 18.

  33. 33.

    Jack Goody, The Domestication of the Savage Mind (Cambridge University Press, 1997).

  34. 34.

    Hocquard , Théorie des tables, section 16 [16].

  35. 35.

    Ibid., section 30 [30].

  36. 36.

    Hocquard , ‘Cette histoire est la mienne, petit dictionnaire autobiographique de l’élégie’ in Ma haie, 482. Trans. Norma Cole. This Story is Mine, Little Autobiographical Dictionary of the Elegy (Saratoga: Instress, 1999). The existing translation of this volume by Norma Cole is partial. Unless otherwise indicated, all translation in this book are therefore my own.

  37. 37.

    Emmanuel Hocquard and Alexandre Delay, Le voyage à Reykjavik: Chronique (Paris: P.O.L, 1997), 13.

  38. 38.

    Leibovici , des documents, 69–70.

  39. 39.

    Hocquard , ‘Ma vie privée’, RLG1, 233.

  40. 40.

    Richard Bauman and Charles Briggs, ‘Poetics and Performance as Critical Perspectives on Language and Social Life’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19 (1990): 59–88 (75).

  41. 41.

    Goldsmith , Uncreative, 22–23.

  42. 42.

    Ibid.

  43. 43.

    Leibovici , des documents, 69.

  44. 44.

    Hocquard , ‘Ma vie privée’ in Ma haie, 271–272.

  45. 45.

    Hocquard, ‘La Bibliothèque de Trieste’, 28 [32].

  46. 46.

    Nelson Goodman, Languages of Art: An Approach To a Theory of Symbols (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co, 1976).

  47. 47.

    Gérard Genette, Fiction et diction (Paris: Seuil, 1991), 26. Trans. Catherine Porter, Fiction & Diction (Cornell University Press: 2000), 21.

  48. 48.

    Ibid. 24 [16].

  49. 49.

    Ibidem.

  50. 50.

    Ibid., 28 [18].

  51. 51.

    Stanley Fish, Is There a Text in This Class?: The Authority of Interpretative Communities (Harvard University Press, 1990).

Bibliography

  • Alferi, Pierre. 1992. Le chemin familier du poisson combatif. Paris: P.O.L.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2013. Une dérive théorique: poésie, prose, montage, dessin. Post-doc diss., Université Paris 8, n.p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alferi, Pierre, and Olivier Cadiot. 1995. Revue de littérature générale, La Mécanique Lyrique 95/1. Paris: P.O.L.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Richard, and Charles Briggs. 1990. Poetics and Performance as Critical Perspectives on Language and Social Life. Annual Review of Anthropology 19: 59–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cadiot, Olivier. 2013. ‘Réenchanter les formes’ Interview by Marie Gil and Patrice Maniglier. Les Temps Modernes 676: 6–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fish, Stanley. 1990. Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretative Communities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, Michel. (1966) 1994. La pensée du dehors. In Dits et Écrits. Vol. 1, 518–540. Paris: Gallimard. Trans. Robert Hurley. 1998. The Thought of the Outside. In Aesthetics, Methods and Epistemology: The Essential, ed. James D. Faubion, 147–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genette, Gérard. 1991. Fiction et diction. Paris: Seuil. Trans. Catherine Porter. 2000. Fiction & Diction. Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, Kenneth. 2011. Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, Nelson. 1976. Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbol. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goody, Jack. 1997. The Domestication of the Savage Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hocquard, Emmanuel. 1988. La Bibliothèque de Trieste. Royaumont: Éditions Royaumont. Trans. Mark Hutchinson. 1994. The Library of Trieste. Paris: The Noble Rider.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1992. Théorie des tables. Paris: P.O.L. Trans. Michael Palmer. 1994. Theory of Tables. Providence: Oblek Editions.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1997. Cette histoire est la mienne: petit dictionnaire autobiographique de l’élégie. Paris: Notes. Trans. Norma Cole. 1999. This Story Is Mine, Little Autobiographical Dictionary of the Elegy. Saratoga: Instress.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2001. Ma haie. Paris: P.O.L.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2007. Conditions de lumière. Paris: P.O.L. Trans. Jean-Jacques Poucel. 2010. Conditions of Light. Fence Books/La Presse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hocquard, Emmanuel, and Alexandre Delay. 1997. Le voyage à Reykjavik: Chronique. Paris: P.O.L.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob, Christian, ed. 2007. Lieux de savoir. Vol. 2. Paris: Albin Michel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenny, Laurent. 1990. La parole singulière. Paris: Belin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Tellier, Hervé. 2006. Esthétique de l’Oulipo. Paris: Le Castor Astral.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibovici, Franck. 2007. des documents poétiques. Romainville: Al Dante.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1960. La pensée sauvage. Paris: Plon. Trans. Georges Weidenfeld. 1966. The Savage Mind. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maulpoix, Jean-Michel. ‘La poésie française depuis 1950’, ‘1970: Décanter, déchanter’. http://www.maulpoix.net/decanter.html. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

  • Perec, Georges. 1989. Still Life/Style Leaf. L’infraordinaire, 107–119. Paris: Seuil. Trans. Harry Mathews. 1981. Still Life/Style Leaf. Yale French Studies 61: 299–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perloff, Marjorie. 1991. Radical Artifice: Writing Poetry in the Age of Media. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ponge, Francis. 2002. La Table. Paris: Gallimard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Queneau, Raymond, ed. 1988. Atlas de littérature potentielle. Paris: Gallimard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reggiani, Christelle. 1999. Rhétorique de la contrainte. Georges Perec-l’Oulipo. Saint-Pierre-du-mont: Erudit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reig, Christophe. 2006. Mimer, Miner, Rimer: le cycle romanesque de Jacques Roubaud. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roche, Denis. 1982. Photomontages antinazis. Paris: Éditions du Chêne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roubaud, Jacques. 1979. Description d’un projet. Mezura 9: 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salon, Olivier. 2005. Contrainte est tout contre un terrien. Revue de la. Bibliothèque Nationale de France 20: 40–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, Arno. 1998. Roses et poireau. Paris: Maurice Nadeau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1958. The Blue and Brown Books. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Jeff Barda

Authors
  1. Jeff Barda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Barda, J. (2019). Tools and Operations. In: Experimentation and the Lyric in Contemporary French Poetry . Palgrave Studies in Modern European Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15293-2_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation