Georges Perecs Geographies: Material, Performative and Textual Spaces

Georges Perec (1936-82) was one of the most inventive and original writers of the twentieth century. A fascinating aspect of his work as a novelist, filmmaker, and essayist is its intrinsically geographical nature. With many major projects on space and place, Perec’s writing speaks to a variety of geographical, urban, and architectural concerns-both in a substantive way, including a focus on cities, streets, and homes, and in a methodological way, as in his experiments with urban observation and exploration.

Georges Perec’s Geographies explores Perec’s geographical interests. The book is divided into two parts: Part I, Perec’s Geographies, explores space and place within Perec’s films, radio plays, and literature, from descriptions of actual streets to the fictional places within his work. Part II, Perecquian Geographies, explores geography in works directly inspired by Perec, including writing, photographs and photo essays, soundscapes, theater, and dance. Extending Perecquian criticism beyond literary and French studies to disciplines including geography, urban studies, and architecture, Georges Perec’s Geographies offers a complete and systematic examination that will be of interest not only to Perec scholars but also to students and researchers across these subjects.