First and foremost, this book would not exist in its current form if not for Gavin James Bower and Tariq Goddard; to them we say mille mercis—or as Queneau might put it, a hundred thousand billion mercis.
From Scott:
This book would not have been written without the thoughts, inspiration and book recommendations of some excellent people. They are: Barrett Hathcock, Daniel Medin, CJ Evans and Marcello Ballvé. And thank you to Moe’s Books in Berkeley for always stocking the essential authors I wanted to read every time I came to buy another book. Those shelves are a treasure to an inquiring mind.
Huge thanks to Martin Riker and Jeremy Davies of the Dalkey Archive Press for helping me discover many of the Oulipo, and for making them available in English. And likewise to Barbara Epler of New Directions for overseeing César Aira’s emergence in English.
And most thanks of all to Elizabeth Wadell, for making me see that literature was my path in life and giving me the where- withal to walk it.
From Lauren:
A number of pepole were crucially helpful to the writing of this book, whether they realized it or not. Thank you to the staff at the British Library; to Inigo Thomas, Mary-Kay Wilmers, Sam Frears and Lucie Campbell for their hospitality; to Deborah Friedell for morale-boosting; to Mel Flashman for suggesting I do something on Hervé Le Tellier; and to Sharmaine and Thomas Lovegrove and the staff of Dialogue Books in Berlin. I am also indebted to Daniel Levin Becker, whose Many Subtle Channels: In Praise of Potential Literature (Harvard UP) is an unmatched source of first-hand material on the Oulipo.
Deepest thanks to Elissa Campbell, Susan Barbour and Joanna Walsh, for encouragement and clarity and inspiration; to my parents and sister for that, too; and to Seb Emina, for providing a steady supply of breakfast, puns and happiness.