# Paul Fournel

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Paul_Fournel
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Paul_Fournel.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Fournel
> Source revision: 1351311558
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

French writer, poet, publisher and cultural ambassador

Fournel in 2012

**Paul Fournel** (born 20 May 1947 in [Saint-Étienne](/source/Saint-%C3%89tienne)) is a French writer, poet, publisher, and cultural ambassador.

## Biography

He was educated at the [École normale supérieure](/source/%C3%89cole_normale_sup%C3%A9rieure) of Saint-Cloud (1968–1972). Fournel wrote his master's thesis on [Raymond Queneau](/source/Raymond_Queneau) and published the first book-length study of the [Oulipo](/source/Oulipo), *Clefs pour la littérature potentielle* ("Keys to potential literature"). He joined the [Oulipo](/source/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](/source/'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](/source/Alliance_Fran%C3%A7aise) in San Francisco, and from 2000 to 2003 he was the French cultural attaché in [Cairo](/source/Cairo). He has been France's cultural attaché in London.

## Honors

- 1989: [Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle](/source/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](/source/Harry_Mathews) and Boris Tissot

- *Foraine*, 1999,

- *Besoin de vélo*, essays, 2001; [Need for the Bike](https://books.google.com/books?id=bLUZsguUfZcC), 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)](http://www.paulfournel.net)

- [Fournel's page in the official Oulipo web site (French)](http://www.oulipo.net/oulipiens/PF)

- ["Oulipo at 45" by Paul Fournel](http://drunkenboat.com/db8/oulipo/feature-oulipo/oulipo/texts/fournel/45yrs_en.html)

- ["Our Mistake" by Paul Fournel](http://drunkenboat.com/db8/oulipo/feature-oulipo/oulipo/texts/fournel/mistake_en.html)

- [A short play by Paul Fournel at UpRightDown](https://web.archive.org/web/20080219055736/http://www.uprightdown.com/aroundthebush.html)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Japan Czech Republic Spain Portugal Netherlands Norway Korea Poland Catalonia Belgium Croatia Academics CiNii Artists FID People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Yale LUX

This biography of a French philosopher is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:France-philosopher-stub)
- [t](/source/Template_talk%3AFrance-philosopher-stub)
- [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:France-philosopher-stub)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Paul Fournel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Fournel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Fournel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.