Volodine's fictions all resemble each other save for names and settings. They expose a world wher... more Volodine's fictions all resemble each other save for names and settings. They expose a world where the Revolution has failed and its protagonists are either dead, incarcerated, or holed up in the putrefying carcass of an abandoned building. Protagonists keep the memory of their political dreams alive by telling the stories of lost comrades, in works tapped out in code on the drainage pipes of a high-security prison or the asylum where they are held without charge, or else circulated, samizdat-style, among sympathizers. The authors of these narratives are themselves the subjects of others. So the characters created by Volodine become the authors of his work, such that Antoine Volodine is just one name among the many contributors to the literature of the post-exotic world. With formal roots in science fiction and thematic sources in France's continuing nostalgia for the revolutionary road, Volodine's dreamworld seems quite unrelated to the main trends of contemporary writing, yet it forms one of the most ambitious literary projects of our times. Couched in language of exquisite precision and grace, Volodine's not entirely imaginary construction of a ruined world simultaneously denies individual authorship and reasserts human individuality through the memorializing function of storytelling.
"Is That a Fish in Your Ear?" by David Bellos asks: how do we really make ourselves und... more "Is That a Fish in Your Ear?" by David Bellos asks: how do we really make ourselves understood to other people? This funny, wise and life-affirming language book shows how, from puns to poetry, news bulletins to the Bible, Asterix to Swedish films, translation is at the heart of everything we do - and makes us who we are. Selected by "The New York Times" as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2011. "A wonderful, witty book ...richly original, endlessly fascinating ...for anyone interested in words". ("Economist", Books of the Year). "A scintillating bouillabaisse ...spiced with good and provocative things". ("Literary Review"). "Dazzlingly inventive". ("The New York Times"). "Clear and lively...There is nothing quite like it". ("Spectator").
An illustrated video lecture on the music referenced in the original text of Les Misérables, incl... more An illustrated video lecture on the music referenced in the original text of Les Misérables, including the first ever audio of Charles Kopptiz, Fantine (1863), the first of the musicals to be made from the novel.
In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learni... more In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learning" which attributed the beneficial ownership of printed books "and other writings" to their authors and their assigns. The law had been a long time coming, and it was a strange compromise between the vested interests of London printer-publishers who were members of the Stationers' Company, and the new-found interest of the reading public in having access to books at lower cost. The right it accorded the creators of what was not yet called intellectual property was limited by design: fourteen years from first publication, renewable for another fourteen if the author was still living; and twenty-one years from the date of the royal assent for works legally published and registered before 1710. Its main aim 2 Statute was aimed only "to encourage learning by giving the advantage of the book to the author" and "could be intended only to restrain the mechanical art of printing" but "not to hinder a translation of the book into another language, which in some respects may be called a different book, and the translator may be said to be the author, in as much as some skill in language is requisite thereto". In 1721, when the case finally reached Chancery, the Lord Chancellor agreed that "such endeavors were not within the prohibition of the act". But he quashed the publication nonetheless, on what would now be called public interest grounds: it was a book that contained "strange notions", he said, and should not be made available in the vulgar tongue. It should remain in Latin only, "in which language it could not do much hurt, the learned being better able to judge" the work. 3 The effect of Burnet v Chetwood was to keep translations out of the full compass of copyright in the UK for almost two centuries. They did not become fully protected until the Copyright Reform Act of 1911. In the United States, the first copyright law was passed in 1790, and it granted rights over literary work and a number of other related creations only to US citizens. As a result, no foreign work had any rights attached to it at all, and the young Republic translated a great deal. Works translated by citizens and properly registered were copyright in the translator's name. The most stunning example was the superfast production in 1862 of Charles Wilbour's version of Les Misérables, which sold more copies than any other American book throughout the nineteenth century and made Wilbour a rich man. He spent the fortune on an expedition to Egypt, where he acquired treasures that now fill the Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, including the Elephantine papyrus. Similarly, in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was a vibrant and enriching industry of novel translation between England and France, and there's no doubt that the rise of the modern novel owed much to the porosity of the line 3
Volodine's fictions all resemble each other save for names and settings. They expose a world wher... more Volodine's fictions all resemble each other save for names and settings. They expose a world where the Revolution has failed and its protagonists are either dead, incarcerated, or holed up in the putrefying carcass of an abandoned building. Protagonists keep the memory of their political dreams alive by telling the stories of lost comrades, in works tapped out in code on the drainage pipes of a high-security prison or the asylum where they are held without charge, or else circulated, samizdat-style, among sympathizers. The authors of these narratives are themselves the subjects of others. So the characters created by Volodine become the authors of his work, such that Antoine Volodine is just one name among the many contributors to the literature of the post-exotic world. With formal roots in science fiction and thematic sources in France's continuing nostalgia for the revolutionary road, Volodine's dreamworld seems quite unrelated to the main trends of contemporary writing, yet it forms one of the most ambitious literary projects of our times. Couched in language of exquisite precision and grace, Volodine's not entirely imaginary construction of a ruined world simultaneously denies individual authorship and reasserts human individuality through the memorializing function of storytelling.
"Is That a Fish in Your Ear?" by David Bellos asks: how do we really make ourselves und... more "Is That a Fish in Your Ear?" by David Bellos asks: how do we really make ourselves understood to other people? This funny, wise and life-affirming language book shows how, from puns to poetry, news bulletins to the Bible, Asterix to Swedish films, translation is at the heart of everything we do - and makes us who we are. Selected by "The New York Times" as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2011. "A wonderful, witty book ...richly original, endlessly fascinating ...for anyone interested in words". ("Economist", Books of the Year). "A scintillating bouillabaisse ...spiced with good and provocative things". ("Literary Review"). "Dazzlingly inventive". ("The New York Times"). "Clear and lively...There is nothing quite like it". ("Spectator").
An illustrated video lecture on the music referenced in the original text of Les Misérables, incl... more An illustrated video lecture on the music referenced in the original text of Les Misérables, including the first ever audio of Charles Kopptiz, Fantine (1863), the first of the musicals to be made from the novel.
In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learni... more In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learning" which attributed the beneficial ownership of printed books "and other writings" to their authors and their assigns. The law had been a long time coming, and it was a strange compromise between the vested interests of London printer-publishers who were members of the Stationers' Company, and the new-found interest of the reading public in having access to books at lower cost. The right it accorded the creators of what was not yet called intellectual property was limited by design: fourteen years from first publication, renewable for another fourteen if the author was still living; and twenty-one years from the date of the royal assent for works legally published and registered before 1710. Its main aim 2 Statute was aimed only "to encourage learning by giving the advantage of the book to the author" and "could be intended only to restrain the mechanical art of printing" but "not to hinder a translation of the book into another language, which in some respects may be called a different book, and the translator may be said to be the author, in as much as some skill in language is requisite thereto". In 1721, when the case finally reached Chancery, the Lord Chancellor agreed that "such endeavors were not within the prohibition of the act". But he quashed the publication nonetheless, on what would now be called public interest grounds: it was a book that contained "strange notions", he said, and should not be made available in the vulgar tongue. It should remain in Latin only, "in which language it could not do much hurt, the learned being better able to judge" the work. 3 The effect of Burnet v Chetwood was to keep translations out of the full compass of copyright in the UK for almost two centuries. They did not become fully protected until the Copyright Reform Act of 1911. In the United States, the first copyright law was passed in 1790, and it granted rights over literary work and a number of other related creations only to US citizens. As a result, no foreign work had any rights attached to it at all, and the young Republic translated a great deal. Works translated by citizens and properly registered were copyright in the translator's name. The most stunning example was the superfast production in 1862 of Charles Wilbour's version of Les Misérables, which sold more copies than any other American book throughout the nineteenth century and made Wilbour a rich man. He spent the fortune on an expedition to Egypt, where he acquired treasures that now fill the Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, including the Elephantine papyrus. Similarly, in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was a vibrant and enriching industry of novel translation between England and France, and there's no doubt that the rise of the modern novel owed much to the porosity of the line 3
In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learni... more In 1710, Queen Anne of England signed the royal assent to an "Act for the Encouragement of Learning" which attributed the beneficial ownership of printed books "and other writings" to their authors and their assigns. The law had been a long time coming, and it was a strange compromise between the vested interests of London printer-publishers who were members of the Stationers' Company, and the new-found interest of the reading public in having access to books at lower cost. The right it accorded the creators of what was not yet called intellectual property was limited by design: fourteen years from first publication, renewable for another fourteen if the author was still living; and twenty-one years from the date of the royal assent for works legally published and registered before 1710. Its main aim 2 Statute was aimed only "to encourage learning by giving the advantage of the book to the author" and "could be intended only to restrain the mechanical art of printing" but "not to hinder a translation of the book into another language, which in some respects may be called a different book, and the translator may be said to be the author, in as much as some skill in language is requisite thereto". In 1721, when the case finally reached Chancery, the Lord Chancellor agreed that "such endeavors were not within the prohibition of the act". But he quashed the publication nonetheless, on what would now be called public interest grounds: it was a book that contained "strange notions", he said, and should not be made available in the vulgar tongue. It should remain in Latin only, "in which language it could not do much hurt, the learned being better able to judge" the work. 3 The effect of Burnet v Chetwood was to keep translations out of the full compass of copyright in the UK for almost two centuries. They did not become fully protected until the Copyright Reform Act of 1911. In the United States, the first copyright law was passed in 1790, and it granted rights over literary work and a number of other related creations only to US citizens. As a result, no foreign work had any rights attached to it at all, and the young Republic translated a great deal. Works translated by citizens and properly registered were copyright in the translator's name. The most stunning example was the superfast production in 1862 of Charles Wilbour's version of Les Misérables, which sold more copies than any other American book throughout the nineteenth century and made Wilbour a rich man. He spent the fortune on an expedition to Egypt, where he acquired treasures that now fill the Egyptian collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, including the Elephantine papyrus. Similarly, in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries there was a vibrant and enriching industry of novel translation between England and France, and there's no doubt that the rise of the modern novel owed much to the porosity of the line 3
VIEWS 191 INFO more S NS Formules, revue des littératures à contraintes nº6 (complet) "Perec et l... more VIEWS 191 INFO more S NS Formules, revue des littératures à contraintes nº6 (complet) "Perec et le renouveau des contraintes" !
Georges Perec 20 ans après
Dossier Perec, Vingt ans après
Gilles Esposito-Farèse : Calligrammes
... more Georges Perec 20 ans après Dossier Perec, Vingt ans après
Gilles Esposito-Farèse : Calligrammes Mireille Ribière : Vingt ans d'études perecquiennes Bernard Magné : À propos de W ou le souvenir d'enfance Christelle Regianni : Contrainte et romanesque Dominique Bertelli « Hors programme » Angelo Schiavetta : Perec et la contrainte comme signe Cécile de Bary : Contre une littérature réaliste ? David Bellos : Winckler fait tache d'huile 85 Roland Brasseur : Suites à Je me souviens de Je me souviens Alain Chevrier : Lettre à Bernard Magné Bernard Magné : Réponse à Alain Chevrier L'Abbé Louis de Court : Variétés ingénieuses (1724) Jean-François Marmontel : Élémens de littérature (1787) Alain Zalmanski : Les voyages divers Shuichiro Shiotsuka : Perec au Japon Gilles Esposito-Farèse : Pentomino DOSSIER Renouveau des Écritures Formelles Régine Detambel : Section dorée Barbara. Suckfull : Tintinabulum Jan Baetens : Mourning picture Alain Chevrier : Sonnets monolettriques Michel Clavel : Passe-passe Marie Étienne : La boîte de camembert Michelle Grangaud : Vie brève d'Alexandre Dumas, plagiaire Marcel Bénabou : Peut-être lan Monk : A ladder with butterflies Alin Anseeuw : Au cœur de la région centrale (extraits) Jean-Michel Espitallier : Où va-t-on et comment ? Jean-Michel Espitallier : Où va-t-on ? Anne-James Chaton : Semaine d'août Gilles Tronchet : Echo et Narcisse Jacques Sivan : constringere Jacques Sivan : marguerite Alain Zalmanski : Neige en novembre Guy Lelong : Formation d'athlétisme Guy Lelong : Plan d'Athlétisme Jacques Perry-Salkow : La nymphe du bois Jacques Perry-Salkow : La gamine ibère Patrice Hamel : L'articulation des procédures Patrice Hamel : Réplique n° 19 (2000), versions N° 2 et 3 (2002) 210 Jean-Noël Orengo : Les inscriptions de la lecture Observatoire des littératures à contraintes Sjef Houppermans : Derrière le rideau cramoisi Gérald Purnelle : Préférer l'impair Sur Pierre de Gondol, par les auteurs Chantal Robillard : Littérature jeunesse à contraintes Observatoire des littératures à contraintes Revue des parutions récentes, dirigée par Alain Chevrier Écho des Colloques Rubrique dirigée par Christelle Regianni. Auteur invité Eric Beaumatin. Jeux Rubrique dirigée par Alain Zalmanski
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Papers by David Bellos
Dossier Perec, Vingt ans après
Gilles Esposito-Farèse : Calligrammes
Mireille Ribière : Vingt ans d'études perecquiennes
Bernard Magné : À propos de W ou le souvenir d'enfance
Christelle Regianni : Contrainte et romanesque
Dominique Bertelli « Hors programme »
Angelo Schiavetta : Perec et la contrainte comme signe
Cécile de Bary : Contre une littérature réaliste ?
David Bellos : Winckler fait tache d'huile 85
Roland Brasseur : Suites à Je me souviens de Je me souviens
Alain Chevrier : Lettre à Bernard Magné
Bernard Magné : Réponse à Alain Chevrier
L'Abbé Louis de Court : Variétés ingénieuses (1724)
Jean-François Marmontel : Élémens de littérature (1787)
Alain Zalmanski : Les voyages divers
Shuichiro Shiotsuka : Perec au Japon
Gilles Esposito-Farèse : Pentomino
DOSSIER Renouveau des Écritures Formelles
Régine Detambel : Section dorée
Barbara. Suckfull : Tintinabulum
Jan Baetens : Mourning picture
Alain Chevrier : Sonnets monolettriques
Michel Clavel : Passe-passe
Marie Étienne : La boîte de camembert
Michelle Grangaud : Vie brève d'Alexandre Dumas, plagiaire
Marcel Bénabou : Peut-être
lan Monk : A ladder with butterflies
Alin Anseeuw : Au cœur de la région centrale (extraits)
Jean-Michel Espitallier : Où va-t-on et comment ?
Jean-Michel Espitallier : Où va-t-on ?
Anne-James Chaton : Semaine d'août
Gilles Tronchet : Echo et Narcisse
Jacques Sivan : constringere
Jacques Sivan : marguerite
Alain Zalmanski : Neige en novembre
Guy Lelong : Formation d'athlétisme
Guy Lelong : Plan d'Athlétisme
Jacques Perry-Salkow : La nymphe du bois
Jacques Perry-Salkow : La gamine ibère
Patrice Hamel : L'articulation des procédures
Patrice Hamel : Réplique n° 19 (2000), versions N° 2 et 3 (2002) 210
Jean-Noël Orengo : Les inscriptions de la lecture
Observatoire des littératures à contraintes
Sjef Houppermans : Derrière le rideau cramoisi
Gérald Purnelle : Préférer l'impair
Sur Pierre de Gondol, par les auteurs
Chantal Robillard : Littérature jeunesse à contraintes
Observatoire des littératures à contraintes
Revue des parutions récentes, dirigée par Alain Chevrier
Écho des Colloques
Rubrique dirigée par Christelle Regianni. Auteur invité Eric Beaumatin.
Jeux
Rubrique dirigée par Alain Zalmanski