Raymond Queneau 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.

Born in Le Havre in 1903, Queneau moved to Paris when he was 17. Initially, he joined André Breton's Surrealist group but soon dissociated himself from it. Queneau's work is seen as a deliberate product of his conscious mind, memory, and intentionality, contrasting the pure expression sought by Surrealists.

His novels, though seemingly spontaneous, were meticulously constructed, with Queneau once remarking that he could not leave anything to chance.