Ouxpo is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for "Ouvroir d'X Potentielle". It is an umbrella group for

Oulipo Oulipo (, short for french: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: ''"workshop of potential literature"'', stylized ''OuLiPo'') is a loose gathering of (mainly) French-speaking writers and mathematicians who seek to create works ...

Oubapo Oubapo (, short for french: Ouvroir de bande dessinée potentielle; roughly translated: ''"workshop of potential comic book art"'') is a comics movement which believes in the use of formal constraints to push the boundaries of the medium. OuBaPo i ...

Outrapo Outrapo stands for "Ouvroir de tragicomédie potentielle", which translates roughly as "workshop of potential tragicomedy". It was founded in London, in 1991, and it seeks to mine the potentialities of stage performance, using new or preexistent c ...

, etc. The term 'ouvroir', originally used in conjunction with works of charity, was reused by

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau wa ...

for a blend of 'ouvroir' and 'œuvre' ("work") and roughly corresponds to the English 'workshop'. The term 'potentiel' is used in the sense of that "which is possible, or realisable if one follows certain rules".

History

Created within the Collège de 'Pataphysique in 1960,

is now better known than the college itself and has survived the decline of the college. In accordance with the wishes of

François Le Lionnais François Le Lionnais (3 October 1901 – 13 March 1984) was a French chemical engineer and writer. He was a co-founder of the literary movement Oulipo. Biography Le Lionnais was born in Paris on 3 October 1901. Trained as a chemical engi ...

and

, other Ouvroirs d'X Potentielle have been spun off from Oulipo for all the arts. Each ouvroir is dedicated to some field 'X'. It analyses the pre-existing constraints, and investigates new forms of potential creations within the field. The job of coordinating the ouvroirs was given first to

, then Noël Arnaud, and then

Milie von Bariter Miliieve ( uk, Мілієве; ro, Milie) is a village in Vyzhnytsia Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which ...

The official ouvroirs

After 1960-11-24 when

was created, thirteen years passed before the appearance of Oulipopo (LIttérature POlicière, detective literature) in 1973, twenty years before Oupeinpo (PEINture, painting) in 1980, and 31 years before

(TRAgicomédie) in 1991, the first ouvroir to be created without François Le Lionnais. Since then, a new ouvroir has arisen almost every year. A list of some Ouxpo groups: *

, (BAnde dessinée, or comics) * Ouhispo, (HIStory) * Oumapo, (MArionnettes) * Ouphopo, (PHOtographie) *

, (LIttérature) * Oulipolipo, (LIbyco POlonais de LIttérature) * Ou'inpo, (INformatique, or information technology) * Ouca(ta)po, (CATAstrophe) * Oupypo, ('PYgology') * Ouarchpo, (ARCHitecture) * Oupolpot, (POLitique) *

Ougrapo Ougrapo stands for "Ouvroir du design graphique potentiel", which translates roughly as "workshop of potential graphic design", it was founded in Frankfurt (Main), in 2000. Ougrapo is an archive and a workshop for "graphic design under constraint ...

, (design GRAphique) * Oucarpo, (CARtography) Oumupo and

Oucipo Oucipo is part of the Ouxpo cultural movement that was in turn derived from the Oulipo literary movement, but with a specific focus on cinema. Literally, the Workshop of Possible (or Potential) Cinema (''Ouvroir de Cinématographie Potentielle''), ...

(MUsique and CInématographie) were created very early, but the dates are uncertain and these ouvroirs probably experienced multiple births. In fact, many Oumupo seem to co-exist. Oucuipo (CUIsine) was created from a fringe activity of Oulipo.

Some others

(GRAmmaire) wants to remain independent of Ouxpo. Some lists mention both an Oumathpo and an Oupornpo. Others, some probably parodies of ouvroirs, include Outyppo (TYPographie), Oupopo (POlitique, again), Oumapo (MAthematique), Oulitramupo (LIttérature TRAduite en MUsique), Oupipo (PIètrerie, from piètre 'mediocre'),

(but pronounced oulīpo, as in Liposuction), Ouecopo (ECOnomy) — but these do not appear to be either authentic or members of Ou-X-Po. There exists also an Oucopo (COmique), an Ougéopo (GÉOgraphie), an Oujapo (JArdinage or gardening), and an Ououpo (OUxpo (meta-oulipo)). The notion of an Ouflarfpo (FLARF) has also recently been theorized as a means of resolving some of the aesthetic and political tensions between

flarf Flarf poetry was an ''avant-garde'' poetry movement of the early 21st century. The term ''Flarf'' was coined by the poet Gary Sullivan, who also wrote and published the earliest Flarf poems. Its first practitioners, working in loose collaboration o ...

and conceptual poetry.

History

The official ouvroirs

Some others

External links