The Politics of Play

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.