Thursday, October 29, 2009
On Mt. Oulipos
On Mt. Oulipos Harry Matthews
Is depicted in his statues
Wearing laurels on his bald head,
A collar and a tie.
He's inspecting an expensive vintage,
A marble glimmer in his eye.
His carven slacks and coat are bulging
Over massive shoulder and thigh.
Many a weighty tome is found
On deep and sturdy shelves behind.
Italo Calvino, Surrealistes,
Old Andre Breton, in embossed leather,
Perec, Queneau, men of letters,
Stacked-up wide and high.
At his feet (in marble Ferragamos)
Are chiseled tablets, and they're missing
The letters O and A. Luckily, he could use an E
He was also allowed a U and I.
"THUNK YE, SHITE'S VIECUB ~ HURRY MUTTHEWS"
Graven text reads cryptically.
Harry Matthews, the sole American "Oulipian," was
recently lionized in a NYTIMES.COM "Schott's Vocab" feature.
Ala Georges Perec, who notoriously wrote a novel without
the letter E, Oulipians write their way around certain self-imposed limitations.
How Perec listed his name on the title page is uncertain to me.
Perhaps P*r*c, G*org*s?
Is depicted in his statues
Wearing laurels on his bald head,
A collar and a tie.
He's inspecting an expensive vintage,
A marble glimmer in his eye.
His carven slacks and coat are bulging
Over massive shoulder and thigh.
Many a weighty tome is found
On deep and sturdy shelves behind.
Italo Calvino, Surrealistes,
Old Andre Breton, in embossed leather,
Perec, Queneau, men of letters,
Stacked-up wide and high.
At his feet (in marble Ferragamos)
Are chiseled tablets, and they're missing
The letters O and A. Luckily, he could use an E
He was also allowed a U and I.
"THUNK YE, SHITE'S VIECUB ~ HURRY MUTTHEWS"
Graven text reads cryptically.
Harry Matthews, the sole American "Oulipian," was
recently lionized in a NYTIMES.COM "Schott's Vocab" feature.
Ala Georges Perec, who notoriously wrote a novel without
the letter E, Oulipians write their way around certain self-imposed limitations.
How Perec listed his name on the title page is uncertain to me.
Perhaps P*r*c, G*org*s?
