In a rare New York City appearance by Paris-based writers group Oulipo, members of this "Workshop of Potential Literature" will read their own work both in English and in French, kicking off a week-long celebration on Wednesday, April 1, at 7:00 p.m., in Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street. Introduced by Jean-Jacques Poucel, who curated a feature on Oulipo writers for the literary magazine Drunken Boat, the Oulipians will demonstrate the diversity and beauty of work written under constraint.

Featuring Marcel Bénabou, author of Jacob, Menahem, and Mimoun: A Family Epic; Anne F. Garréta, author of Not a Day; Jacques Jouet, author of Une Mauvaise Marie; Herve LeTellier, author of Esthétique de l’Oulipo; Harry Matthews, author of Oulipo Compendium; Ian Monk, author of Family Archeology and Other Poems; and Jacques Roubaud, author of Some Thing Black. The event will be hosted by Honor Moore, faculty, the Writing Program and Jean-Jacques Poucel, associate professor of French at Yale University.

Oulipo stands for "Ouvroir de littérature potentielle," which translates roughly as "workshop of potential literature." It is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians, and seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais. Other notable members include novelists Georges Perec and Italo Calvino, the poet Oskar Pastior, and the poet and mathematician Jacques Roubaud. The group defines the term “littérature potentielle” as: "the seeking of new structures and patterns which may be used by writers in any way they enjoy" (rough translation).

This free event is cosponsored by the French Embassy, Columbia University, Drunkenboat, and The New School Writing Program. Oulipo in New York is being held from April 1-4, 2009 at several venues throughout New York City. All events are free and open to the public. For more information on this and other events, please visit www.frenchculture.org .