French · 1903–1976
French novelist and poet who made language itself the subject of fiction. A surrealist turned encyclopedist, he edited the Pléiade encyclopedia while writing playful, formally inventive novels. Zazie in the Metro became his popular breakthrough—a foul-mouthed girl's romp through Paris, written in phonetic slang. Exercises in Style retold the same trivial anecdote ninety-nine different ways. He co-founded Oulipo, the workshop for potential literature, which constrained writing to generate new forms. His influence runs through experimental fiction and language games.