I remember Georges Perec

This March 7, 2016, the author of "Things" could have been 80 years. For the 20th anniversary of his death in 2001, " Le Nouvel Observateur " asked his friends to remember him.


It was in November 1960 Around François Le Lionnais and Raymond Queneau met members of all nine OuLiPo, as defined by Queneau.:

"LIttéraure workroom of potential. Sewing room because he hears Strive, Literature because it is literature, Potential, the word must be taken in different ways. In summary: OU.LI.PO.

What is the aim of our work? Offer to writers of new structures, mathematical in nature, or even invent new artificial or mechanical processes, contributing to the literary activity: the support for the inspiration, so to speak, or even, in some way, help creativity. "

Georges Perec was in 1966. The strain, which was the engine of the games, creations and research of the Oulipo, was to Perec prodigious accelerator, as it had been for the medieval troubadours, or Raymond Roussel. He went out, among other little miracles, "Disappearance" (written entirely without the vowel e ) and "life manual", which was conducted under the convergent beam of an incredible amount of stress, as we can check in the "Specifications of "life manual " ," published by Editions Zulma.

It shows that in these wonderful stories that make up this book and tell the life of the inhabitants of a building, everything was predetermined required or prohibited: the order of the stories (one moves in the scene following the progress of the jumper chess), length, content. Such a chapter would take six pages to happen in the lodge of the concierge, and include such words (following a list of colors, objects, animals, clothing, books, drinks, foods, feelings, paints, surfaces, etc.). The result: one of the few books that time (1978) we reread gleefully, and without even knowing it was developed in this voluntary confinement.



The Oulipo was also a matter of friendship. Witness the daily broadcast of France-Culture "The Papuans in the head", in which many current members meet. And since the passions of Perec were lists, inventories (did not forgotten his "I remember"), and since a series of events organized around his work, we had the idea go ask those who loved and admired write some "I remember GeorgesPerec ."

We will see, reading, what affection he inspired. What a strange mixture of reverence and affectionate melancholy he has left in the minds of those who are still there, active and productive. In the life of letters, this phenomenon is probably unique?

When he died in 1982 of cancer of the bronchi, it deprived the Oulipo of one of its brightest members. But life went on, the planet No. 2817, which bears his name, continued to run. Others came, who have not known Perec alive, but the experienced writer, and also remember. After all, we know from the death of Bergotte, in "The Captive," that "in the lighted windows, his books arranged three by three kept watch like angels with outspread wings, seemed to the one that was no longer the symbol resurrection.

I remember that on his return to Australia in 1981, GeorgesPerec claimed that the Kangaroos did not exist, that it was an invention of the Office of Tourism Australia, which urged Aborigines to pretend they do being kangaroos.

I remember Georges Perec said: "! Voodoo is still Debord"

I remember in those days, there are many years, GeorgesPerec lived at the Moulin d'Ande. At that time Henri Pichette preparing a new edition of his book "The Epiphanies." He had decided to rewrite them. He could not go beyond the first sentence. Every morning he went down in the common dining room, and recited to Georges new version of the famous first sentence. "It's not epiphanies , said Perec , but épafinies!"

I remember that before leaving for Australia, Georges Perecasked Paul Braffort and myself if there were numbers n with the following properties:
a) n is prime;
b) the palindrome n, written in Arabic numerals, is first;
c) the palindrome n, written in Arabic numerals, is equal to 2n-1.
We said 37. His palindrome is 73, which is 2 times 37 minus 1. And 37 as 73 are both prime numbers. George said he knew, but he wanted to know if there were others. We said,"This is for what? - That's my novel. - Ah, " We looked for a moment, and I Braffort. But Georges dropped 37 on the road. His last book, unfinished, is "53 Days." 53 is first, but not his palindrome, 35.

I remember the last phone call I received from GeorgesPerec . It was shortly before his death. He said he hoped to have time to finish "53 Days."

"He drank some red wine" For Paul Fournel


I remember that Georges Perec was holding his cigarette between the middle and ring and that for smoking, he rounded his hand like the hull of a sword.

I remember Georges Perec wore Indian shirts over his pants. He never returned them in his girdle to hide his little belly.

I remember the time when Georges Perec has grown a beard and hair.

I remember Georges Perec drank some red wine, and best when he became friends with Harry [Matthews] .

I remember a meeting at the Oulipo President The Lionnais where Georges Perec told us about a novel project that would become "life instructions." That day, Italo Calvino also talked about a project that would become "If on a winter's night a traveler." Looking back, it was a nice day.

I remember a photographer who pursued Georges Perec in his apartment by calling him "master." Georges Perec , puzzled, fled from room to room, repeating: ". I'm not a master"

I remember being classified with Georges Perec Library Room of the Chairman The Lionnais. It was the collection of popular novels. We were dusty. Then we should have done the hallway, living room, dining room and basement.We stayed in the room, and the operation was codenamed "Augean 1".

I remember arriving at Georges Perec just when he finished typing "Life instructions" on its IBM globe. He motioned me to wait a second, he finished the last sentence, he put the word "End" and rose. It was broken.He looked at his machine and said: "I hate her." I said, "I bought it" , and I carried home. She never wanted to walk.

"He was wearing a robe
and was breathing with difficulty" By Jacques Bens


I remember his apartment in the Rue Linne. Pinned a cardboard announced: "Georges Perec, house painting, 36, rue du Cotentin, 75015 Paris." Looking closely, one could see that the original registration was "Berec" : the lower loop of the B had been scraped .

I remember the meeting where the Oulipo, after having read the first lines of "disappearance" he had just composed, George asked if we noticed something: "No, no, nein, noun , nay " , we answered each in his language.

I remember in the fall of 1980 we provided, George and I, for weekly games. Have not been paid for several weeks, we decided to go protest. Our resident correspondent we held the usual language: "It's an accounting error? We will resolve it very quickly. " And George : " You'll even settle immediately. See, we have made ​​sandouiches and beer, we spotted the toilet, we can hold until tomorrow morning. "Fifteen minutes later, a charming secretary brought us our check. It is the only sit-in in my life. It is not heroic, but his memory still amuses me.

I remember the last time I saw George was a few days before his disappearance. He was in his dressing gown and breathing with difficulty.
I remember we were quite numerous in the disaster waiting room of the crematorium of Père-Lachaise, while our friend turned into ashes. After twenty minutes, Harry came to me and said, '. Let a time out " I followed. It was raining. We sheltered under one of these arcuate galleries as Annexes columbarium. A few meters away, Catherine expressed his despair, however qu'impuissants we watched silently sends rain on the trees of the cemetery.

"He had beautiful green eyes,"
For Harry Mathews

I remember being asked Georges Perec , bike enthusiast in the past, why it was so much easier to maintain speed when it was "in the wheel" of another runner. Was there a mechanical explanation, or psychological, or both at once?He replied that there was nothing to explain - we understand the thing or we do not understand.

I remember the eyes of Georges Perec : large, beautiful green.

I remember Georges Perec told me that during a radio show he had poured out in praise of the big Montblanc pen in hopes that the manufacturer would send him.

I remember that during our first dinner after the end of his psychoanalysis, Georges Perec told me that now when he went down the street to mail a letter, he knew he was going down the street to mail a letter.

I remember having felt a great happiness the day in June 1975 when I realized that I liked Georges Perecunreservedly.

(Harry Mathews, in "the Orchard" © POL, 1986.)

"He wanted to do 37 things before you die" By Marcel Bénabou


I remember, fifty listing the things he would like to do before you die, Perec had stopped voluntarily and without explanation, at number 37.

I remember Perec presented to Oulipians draft what would become "life manual" in this mysterious title: "From whey to François Le Lionnais".

I do not remember ever having seen Perec driving a car or on a bike.

I remember when he had to take a train, Perec as the Lionnais and Roubaud, loved arrive at the station at least an hour before the start of that train.

I remember the big black cloth bound book, almost always open, which Perec collected daily its "I remember," and incidentally those of his friends passing.

I remember the tone of voice that Perec had taken the evening of 10 May 1981, a few minutes after 20 o'clock to tell me: "So, that's it, we're in a socialist country?" It was a strange mixture jubilation and disbelief.

I remember one of the favorite guessing Perec was this:"Why are there so few millers Jews?" And the answer, which put him in joy, was: "Because we do can not be in two places at once! "

I do not quite remember when Perec began to wear beards, nor when it adopted this Afro hairstyle that is so quickly became inseparable from his public image.

I remember that summer evening in front of a hotel on the island of Barthelasse, I mistakenly closed the trunk of my car on the skull of Perec , who kept some time a slight scratch.

"He had the pink face" By Michelle Grangaud


I remember that on TV I heard Georges Perec said that with the Prix Médicis he would perhaps be able to live without having to indulge in food work, not literary, which he had been compelled before. This is the only time in my life I saw Georges Perec , or rather its moving image on a screen. He had a clean-shaven face, which seemed candy pink because of the poor quality of the color TV at that time.

I remember having seen in an exhibition on the deportation, which was held at the Centre Georges -Pompidou the disappearance certificate of the mother ofGeorges Perec .

I remember a picture where Mrs. Perec and his son Georgeare standing one next to the other, she left and her right, so to the left of his mother, who has a hand on his shoulder . I see the elegant silhouette of Mrs. Perec , including a tailored suit underlines the fine size. She wears a pretty nice little hat and sees the camera with a serious kind of smile. I do not know if this picture really exists or if it is a false memory.

I remember that during the war the child Georges Perecwas hidden with his uncle and aunt in Villard-de-Lans.

I remember when I read for the first time that Perec wrote about skydiving, I saw him standing back in the queue of those who would jump. He, like all the others, his head shaved, and he wore the uniform, and the harness of the parachute that looked a backpack, appeared dark green in the darkness of the flying machine.

I remember Georges Perec abhorred the word "salsify" to the point that he could not eat this vegetable. It was Henri Deluy, founder of the magazine "poetic Action," which informed me that retail gastrolexicophobie.

"He did not commit suicide" By Hervé Le Tellier


I remember one of the first things you said to me at the Oulipo is that there was no more keen to focus Perec that are in the Lionnais.

I was the first to Oulipian not have known Perec . Yet at the end of a (quite nice) show Perec , pressed by actors who demanded from me Oulipian expert opinion, I found myself replying, probably troubled by anxiety: "I think George would loved. "

I remember a funny thing: the end of a reading (recent) given by the Oulipo, a lady came up to us asking whyGeorges Perec had committed suicide. Despite our denial, we could not convince her, and she left disappointed and irritated by so much hypocrisy.

I remember a teenager, I believe I thought Perec was Breton, certainly because of Perros-Guirec. I realize that this is not a sign of intelligence.

I remember it was in 1995 I think, the opening of the streetGeorges - Perec in Paris: it was the opportunity of a lamentable speech "in the manner of" Mayor of the 20th, Didier Bariani at the time.

I remember the day by reading the biography of Perec by David Bellos, I noted that he had been a student at Claude-Bernard the beginning of the sixth, in October 1946, at the end of its fourth in June 1949, I called immediately to my father, who was there in the same period, two or three classes above probably. Disappointment twofold: he could not remember ever having crossed, and indeed that was what Georges Perec ?

"In 1935, he was really tiny" By Jacques Jouet


I remember Georges Perec had no visible beard and no hair Shaggy.

I remember not having met Georges Perec in 1935, but then it was really tiny.

I remember the thickness of the 'novels' ' the manual Life. "

I remember the long term, the heavy weight of the Oulipo mourning after the death of Georges Perec .

I rémembère in 1975 Joe Brainard published a book entitled "I remember."

"He wanted to write a camel" By Bertrand Jérôme


I remember Georges Perec regretted not having met Malcolm Lowry. He would have liked to spend a whole night talking and get drunk with him.

I remember Georges Perec wanted to write a script for an adventure film in which we see 5000 Kyrgyz cavalant in the steppe.

I remember that Georges Perec was fascinated by a point on the globe in the Pacific, the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line. He planned to spend a day, preferably at midnight.

I remember Georges Perec claimed he had thought to dress differently, tie, three-piece suit, "to see what it would do if I changed cladding" .

I remember Georges Perec regretted his lack of certain appliances, for lack of space: "I recently used for the first time of a washing machine, it's very convenient."

I remember Georges Perec had received a postcard of a road in southern Morocco, with a sign stating: "Timbuktu 52 days" . Since then, he dreamed of the Morocco-Timbuktu travel by camel with a secretary that he would dictate a novel in fifty-two days, the time taken by Stendhal to write "The Charterhouse of Parma."

I remember Georges Perec dreamed of drinking rum found at the bottom of the ocean in a galleon sunk in the seventeenth century, as Captain Haddock in "The Treasure of Rackham the Red".
Georges Perec, bio express



Georges Perec , of Polish origin, was born March 7, 1936. Several members of his family died in the Nazi camps. He was raised by an uncle. His first novel ( "Things") won the Renaudot prize in 1965 . Followed "A man who sleeps", "Vanish", "W or The Memory of Childhood." In 1980 appeared "the manual Life" (Prix Médicis) and "I remember," immortalized in the theater by Sami Frey. Perec also wrote for theater and directed several films. He died March 3, 1982.