Fiction. "Successful formal experiments, especially those relying on Oulipian restraints and combinatories, might demand a certain degree of skill and patience, but so what? They remain 'beyond aesthetic value,' as Raymond Queneau said--a mere demonstration of intellectuals gymnastics. Rick Henry's CHANT, an Oulipian Romance, is completely different in this respect. He demonstrates that such experiments need not be completely sterile, that there can be beauty and even love in constraint"--Matt Short.

Author Hometown: CANTON, NY USA



About the author: Rick Henry is a professor and chair of the Department of English and Communication at SUNY Potsdam, where he has edited Blueline since 1998. He has published numerous short stories in The Connecticut Review, Between C & D, Short Story, and other literary journals, as well as Lucy's Eggs, a collection of stories and a novella from Syracuse University Press. His most recent books, CHANT and SIDEWALK PORTRAIT, were published by BlazeVOX Books.