October 23, 2025
The Politics of Play
Oulipo and the Legacy of French Literary Ludics
Reid Hall | 4, rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris
Free, registration required
Register here
In postwar France, authors approached writing ludically, placing rules and conditions on language and on the context of composition itself. They eliminated “e’s” and feminized texts; they traveled according to strict rules and invented outright silly public personas. The Politics of Play: Oulipo and the Legacy of French Literary Ludics is a comprehensive examination of how and why French authors turned to these ludic methods to grapple with their political moment.
Aubrey Gabel is a specialist in French and Francophone literature and visual culture, especially cinema and comics and graphic albums. The Politics of Play: Oulipo and the Legacy of French Literary Ludics (Northwestern University Press) is her first book.
