One Hundred Million Million Poems

work by Queneau

Also known as: “Cent mille milliards de poèmes”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

"One Hundred Million Million Poems" is a work by French author Raymond Queneau published in 1961. It is an experimental piece that invites the reader to create new poems by rearranging sonnets. The work consists of 10 sonnets, each with a different line on each of its 14 lines. By combining these lines, readers can generate a vast number of unique poems, theoretically 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 possibilities. This concept aligns with Queneau's association with OuLiPo, an experimental literary group that explored the use of formal constraints, often mathematical, to foster creativity. Queneau was known for his playful use of language and his exploration of literary structures.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

French literature
Postwar poetry
…mille milliards de poèmes (1961; One Hundred Million Million Poems), the reader was invited to rearrange 10 sonnets in all the variations possible, as indicated by the title. OuLiPo’s attachment to the serious pleasures of word games, and their engagement in sometimes unbelievably demanding forms, has perhaps its best illustration…
Read More
…mille milliards de poèmes (1961; One Hundred Million Million Poems), the reader was invited to rearrange 10 sonnets in all the variations possible, as indicated by the title. OuLiPo’s attachment to the serious pleasures of word games, and their engagement in sometimes unbelievably demanding forms, has perhaps its best illustration…
Read More