OuLiPo and the Mathematics of Literature

Figure 0.1. Vocalocolorist transposition of the rhyming words of the sestina by OuPeinPo member George Orrimbe. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 0.2. Artistic representation of the sestina’s spiral form by OuPeinPo member Eric Rutten. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Chapter 1 Cover Image: Illustration of the mathematical formula, borrowed from set theory, A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∪ C), designed by OuPeinPo member ACHYAP. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 1.1. A visual illustration of the squares of all sides of a right triangle, designed by OuPeinPo member ACHYAP. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 1.2. A visual proof of the Pythagorean theorem, designed by OuPeinPo member ACHYAP. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 1.3. A Boolean comic strip, Contes et décomptes (p. 16). Reproduced with the artist’s permission.
© Etienne Lécroart & L’Association, 2012.

Chapter 2 Cover Image: 8+1=9, Nature morte arithmétique (Arithmetic Still Life), designed by OuPeinPo member Philippe Mouchès. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 2.1. Infinite comic strip from Contes et décomptes (p. 24). Reproduced with the artist’s permission.
© Etienne Lécroart & L’Association, 2012.

Figure 2.2. Excerpt from “Compter sur toi” in Contes et décomptes (p. 5). Reproduced with the artist’s permission.
© Etienne Lécroart & L’Association, 2012.

Figure 2.3. Excerpt from Mes Hypertropes (p. 167). Reproduced with Oulipo's permission.

Chapter 3 Cover Image: Puzzle Theorem of the Four Colors, designed by OuPeinPo member Eric Rutten. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 3.1. An example of a surrealist cadavre exquis. Reproduced with permission from the Association Atelier André Breton and the photographer. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 3.2. An example of the children’s book Têtes folles. Reproduced with permission from Pascal Kummer. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 3.3. A photograph of Robert Massin’s design for the Cent mille milliards de poèmes, beautifully executed by Maxime Fournier of SAE Institute Paris and reproduced with his permission.

Figure 3.4. The game of Go represented in Jacques Roubaud’s poetry collection, ∈ (p. 151). Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.
© Éditions Gallimard.

Figure 3.5. The completed tarot card design of the first half of Italo Calvino’s Il castello dei destini incrociati (p. 538).

Figure 3.6. The completed tarot card design of the second half of Italo Calvino’s Il castello dei destini incrociati (p. 590).

Figure 3.7. The knight’s tour problem solved by Perec for determining the chapter order of La Vie mode d’emploi, as reimagined by OuPeinPo member Philippe Mouchès. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Chapter 4 Cover Image: Self portrait as Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, designed by OuPeinPo member Helen Frank. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 4.1. A visual illustration of the Bridges of Königsberg problem in graph theory, beautifully reimagined as Immanuel Kant’s face by OuPeinPo member Helen Frank. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 4.2. The graphical representation of Raymond Queneau’s Un conte à votre façon, taken from La Littérature Potentielle (p. 51). Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.
© Éditions Gallimard.

Figure 4.3. The graphical representation of who met whom upon visits to the Duke’s island, taken from Claude Berge’s “Qui a tué le duc de Densmore?” (p. 145). Reproduced with Oulipo’s permission.

Chapter 5 Cover Image: Vocalocolorist portraits of Michèle Audin and Italo Calvino by OuPeinPo member George Orrimbe. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 5.1. The parallelogram created using the numbers in the Indice of Italo Calvino’s Le città invisibili, artistically imagined by OuPeinPo member Philippe Mouchès. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 5.2. An illustration of the notion of the cross-ratio superimposed over Michel Chasles’s portrait, designed by OuPeinPo member ACHYAP. Reproduced with the artist’s permission.

Figure 5.3. The table of contents of Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.4. The first mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.5. The second mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.6. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.7. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.8. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.9. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.10. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Figure 5.11. A mathematical image from Michèle Audin’s Mai quai Conti. Reproduced with the author’s permission. See Bibliography for full citation.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank David Bellos, whose attention to detail, critical feedback, and enthusiasm for my work allowed for my doctoral dissertation to be the best that it could be. I am eternally grateful for his guidance and attribute this current publication in large part to him. Additionally, Christy Wampole and Arielle Saiber provided me with intellectual, emotional, and professional support throughout the critical stages of this project. I would also like to thank Cliff Wulfman for his technical insights; Michael Barany for his history of mathematics expertise; and Hélène Campaignolle-Catel and Camille Bloomfield for welcoming me into the Oulipo Archival Project. It is equally important to mention the support of the late Stéfan Sinclair, who truly believed in this project. I will always regret never having met him in person.

Additionally, a certain number of Oulipians helped me immensely with my research, affording me access to their archives, and having wonderful mathematical discussions with me over coffee: Paul Fournel, Michèle Audin, Olivier Salon, Étienne Lécroart, and the late Paul Braffort. Certain members of the OuPeinPo (Ouvroir de Peinture Potentielle) also deserve a great deal of admiration and thanks for their hard work on this project, illustrating this book so beautifully with constrained artwork. Their generous contribution has allowed this book to reflect the nature of mathematical literature through their imaginative visualizations. Therefore, special thanks are in order to George Orrimbe, Eric Rutten, Philippe Mouchès, ACHYAP, and Helen Frank.

Beyond the academic professionals who helped make this project possible, I must also thank the friends and colleagues who have made up a supportive community in which I carried out this work. Thank you to Alix Punelli, Mélanie Monjean, Tuo Liu, Nicolas Verastegui, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, Liliane Ehrhart, Andréa Toucinho, Eileen Williams, Rosalind Resnick, Fu-Fu Lin, Melissa Verhey, and Charlotte Werbe for being there for me no matter where you were.