Paul Fournel (born 20 May 1947 in Saint-Étienne) is a French writer, poet, publisher, and cultural ambassador.
Biography He was educated at the École normale supérieure of Saint-Cloud (1968–1972). Fournel wrote his master's thesis on Raymond Queneau and published the first book-length study of the Oulipo, Clefs pour la littérature potentielle ("Keys to potential literature"). He joined the Oulipo, first as "slave," then (in 1972) as a full member, and he currently serves both as the Provisionally Definitive Secretary and the President of that group. He is also a regent of the College of 'Pataphysics.
Fournel has worked at various publishing houses, notably Hachette, Honoré Champion, Ramsay, and Seghers. From 1996 to 2000 he was director of the Alliance Française in San Francisco, and from 2000 to 2003 he was the French cultural attaché in Cairo. He has been France's cultural attaché in London.
Honors 1989: Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle, Les Athlètes dans leur tête
Publications
Clefs pour la littérature potentielle, 1972 L’Equilatère, 1972 L’histoire véritable de Guignol, 1975 Les petites filles respirent le même air que nous, 1978 Les grosses rêveuses, 1981 Les aventures très douces de Timothée le rêveur, 1982 Un rocker de trop, 1982 Superchat contre Vilmatou, 1985 Les Athlètes dans leur tête, 1988 Un homme regarde une femme, 2009 Le jour que je suis grand, 1995 Guignol, les Mourguet, 1995 Pac de Cro détective, 1997 Toi qui connais du monde, poems, 1997 Alphabet Gourmand, 1998, with Harry Mathews and Boris Tissot Foraine, 1999, Besoin de vélo, essays, 2001; Need for the Bike, trans. Allan Stoekl Timothée dans l'arbre, 2003 Poils de cairote, 2004 Chamboula, 2007 Les animaux d'amour, 2007
External links Fournel's web site (French) Fournel's page in the official Oulipo web site (French) "Oulipo at 45" by Paul Fournel "Our Mistake" by Paul Fournel A short play by Paul Fournel at UpRightDown