Raymond Queneau 1903–1976
le havre, france
A
poet, novelist, publisher, and mathematician, Queneau saw language
itself as his subject; inventive wordplay, neologisms, scientific lan-
guage, and use of slang mark his work, which is, in turn, funny,moving, and highly experimental. A member of the Surrealist group for a short
time, Queneau broke with Breton in 1929 and later served as a link between the
original group and the growing number of existentialist and absurdist artists; he
was closely associated with the OULIPO (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle).
Queneau collaborated with Georges Bataille on his review Documents and di-
rected, appropriately enough, the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade, reflecting his truly
encyclopedic spirit. He did his military service in North Africa; while there the
conversations between his fellow soldiers sparked his interest in language. He
also collaborated with several film directors; his best-known novel, Zazie dans le
métro, was made into a successful film in 1960, directed by Louis Malle. Principal
works: Chène et chien, 1937; Les Ziaux, 1943; L’Instant fatal, 1946; Bucoliques, 1947;
Exercises de style, 1947; Petite cosmogonie portative, 1950; Si tu t’imagines, 1952; Le
Chien à la mandoline, 1958; Zazie dans le métro, 1959; Battre la campagne, 1968;
Fendre les flots, 1969; Morale élémentaire, 1975.
Reinforcements
[I]
Good-bye now sergeant sir
since you’re heading o√ to war
where you’ll get your money’s worth
me I’ll stay here with the women
and survivors of the one-to-end-’em-all
who commanded say a platoon
and ever since from that day on
retire into complete retreat
good-bye now Sergeant sir
all my dreams are of defeat