Perec and Benabou

This week’s readings ended with the last section of A Void by Georges Perec and “Rule and Constraint” by Marcel Benabou. During our last class discussion, my group mainly focused on the comparisons of new thoughts and ancient verses. It was brought up that the sense of a work being timeless is always perpetually changing. Therefore, it is hard to escape the fact that new thoughts will eventually become known as ancient verses.
On a different note, the overall concept of the book and the form in which A Void was written proved to be a great example of literature. However, Benabou brought up a point that stood out to me when he said, “The poet is never inspired, because he is the master of that which appears to others as inspiration.” Thus, it is not what inspired Perec that inspired others, but rather what he has created through his inspiration that inspires others. The rules and constraints for one may be the gateway for someone else.