Raymond Queneau
Raymond Queneau
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Full Name and Common Aliases
Raymond Jean François Marie Queneau was born on November 21, 1903, in Saint-Céles-les-Conde, a small village in the Seine-et-Marne department of France. He is commonly known as Raymond Queneau or simply RQ.
Birth and Death Dates
Born: November 21, 1903
Died: October 25, 1976, at the age of 72
Nationality and Profession(s)
Queneau was a French writer, poet, novelist, critic, and translator. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in modern French literature.
Early Life and Background
Growing up in a family of modest means, Queneau's early life was marked by a love for reading and writing. He was particularly drawn to the works of Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Lautréamont, which would later influence his own literary style. Queneau attended the Lycée Condorcet in Paris, where he developed a passion for classical languages and philosophy.
Major Accomplishments
Queneau's writing career spanned over five decades, during which he produced an impressive body of work that defied genre boundaries. He was a prolific writer, publishing novels, poems, essays, and plays, as well as translating works from various languages. Some of his notable accomplishments include:
In the Labyrinth (1943), a novel that explores themes of identity, morality, and the human condition
Zazie dans le métro (1959), a novella that captures the spirit of 1950s Parisian youth culture
* Exercises in Style (1947), a collection of short stories that showcase Queneau's innovative approach to narrative
Notable Works or Actions
Queneau was a versatile writer who experimented with various styles and forms. He was also an accomplished translator, having worked on several notable projects, including the translation of Don Quixote into French. Additionally, he co-founded the Oulipo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle), a group of writers dedicated to exploring the possibilities of language and narrative.
Impact and Legacy
Queneau's impact on modern literature is immeasurable. His innovative use of language, his exploration of themes such as identity, morality, and human condition, and his experiments with form and style have inspired generations of writers. His works continue to be widely read and studied, and his influence can be seen in many contemporary writers.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Queneau's quotes are often cited for their insight into the human condition, their wit, and their poetic elegance. His writing style, which blends humor, irony, and intellectual curiosity, has made him a beloved figure among readers and writers alike. As one of the most important figures in modern French literature, Queneau's legacy continues to inspire and influence writers around the world.
Quotes by Raymond Queneau
It is the creator of fiction’s point of view; it is the character who interests him. Sometimes he wants to convince the reader that the story he is telling is as interesting as universal history.
Rules cease to exist once they have outlived their value, but forms live on eternally. There are forms of the novel which impose on the suggested topic all the virtues of the Number. Born of the very expression and of the diverse aspects of the tale, connected by nature with the guiding idea, daughter and mother of all the elements that it polarizes, a structure develops, which transmits to the works the last reflections of Universal Light and the last echoes of the Harmony of Worlds.
He sought an adventure but didn’t find one. He was inexperienced and besides he didn’t have too much imagination.
When Ulysses hears his own story sung by an epic poet and then he reveals his identity and the poet wants to continue singing, Ulysses isn’t interested any longer. That’s very astonishing.
The only advantage he could see in the change was that he had a small desk in his room; his capacity for isolation was thereby increased. But none of this changed his life very much. He continued his games of billiards and his reading. And was periodically overwhelmed by abominable fits of despair from which he was abruptly extricated by a ridiculous but stubborn optimism, an absurd love of life.
The really inspired person is never inspired: he’s always inspired: he doesn’t go looking for inspiration and he doesn’t get up in arms about artistic technique.
To have one’s own story told by a third party who doesn’t know that the character in question is himself the hero of the story being told, that’s a technical refinement.