Italo Calvino's
Invisible Cities is so called because it asserts that what makes up a city is not so much its physical structure but the impression it imparts upon its visitors, the way its inhabitants move within, something unseen that hums between the cracks. This, however, has in no way dissuaded people from attempting to give form to his
works. One such example is the
Hotel Tressants, a building in Menorca, Spain containing 8 rooms named after and
inspired by various cities from the novel. Meanwhile, artists offer illustrations
1,2,3, installations
1,2,3,4,5, music
1,2,3,4,5,6 and
dance, hypertexts
1,2, computer
programs and
animations, even View-Master
slides, while intellectuals offer readings and commentary
1,2, lectures
1,2, and critical texts
1,2,3 sparked by the man and his writings. It has been dubbed "The
Calvino Effect". Do you know of any more?
posted by Lush
on May 20, 2005 -
37 comments
Oulipo. Originally founded by author
Raymond Queneau and mathematical historian François Le Lionnais, this group (literally the Workshop for Potential Literature-
Ouvroir de
Littérature
Potentielle,) sought to create and incorporate
restrictive techniques and methods into their writing. The circle has since expanded, welcoming those
outside of France and
beyond literary genius. Oulipo and its effects upon the literary world
still exist today.
Some products of this group's
eccentricity are a novel
lacking the letter "e" (in both original French and its English translation) (by
Georges Perec, who also needs a direct link here), a novel both
self-referential and circular, and 100,000,000,000,000 sonnets made from
interchangeable lines.
posted by hopeless romantique
on Dec 21, 2004 -
13 comments
