Josie Long presents a series of short documentaries and audio adventures inspired by the work of the Oulipo, a loose collective of writers and mathematicians who use playful constraints in their work to spark new ideas.
The Oulipo's name - Ouvroir de littérature potentielle - roughly translates as 'the workshop of potential literature'. They have produced works such as Georges Perec's La Disparition; A Void in the English translation, in which the letter e never appears; If on a Winter's Night a Traveller..., Italo Calvino's novel which features ten different first chapters of novels; and Raymond Queneau's Exercises in Style, in which the same story is retold 99 times in a different style.
Our workshop for potential radio features literary reviews, audio games and new stories from Joe Dunthorne, Jon Tjhia, John-Luke Roberts and Ross Sutherland.
As Far As The I
Produced by Jon Tjhia
Peanut Butter
Featuring Joe Dunthorne
A Void
Featuring John-Luke Roberts
The Other Ross Sutherland
An alternate version of this story first appeared on the podcast Imaginary Advice
Produced by Ross Sutherland
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
view more