Discovering the Oulipo

Occasionaly you get one of those 'ahhhh so that's it' moments in life when something that you didn't quite understand becomes clear.

In this case the story starts with Georges Perec and Life a Users Manual and then much more so with A Void. What was it all about writing a book without using the ltter 'e' seemed to be a literary challenge.

But as a result of buying and starting to read McSweeney's issue 22 the scales have fallen from my eyes and the word Oulipo now emerges explaining not just what Perec was up to but also other writers.

What a great resource McSweeny's is not only to provide me with information but to bring a literary movement that has been knocking around since the 1960s right up to date.