Raymond Queneau (19031976) is a key figure of mid twentieth century French literature. He wasa novelist, poet/songwriter, screenwriter, encyclopaedist, mathematician and painter. He was also aliterary innovator and theoretician, and cofounded L'Ouvroir de littrature potentielle (OuLiPo) afertile association of writers interested in constrained writing techniques. A senior editor with theprestigious publishers Gallimard, he also mentored aspiring writers (e.g. Marguerite Duras, PatrickModiano, Nobel 2104) and was a judge for the annual Prix Goncourt. He is especially well known forthe novel Zazie dans le Metro (1959) filmed by Louis Malle. James Gosling, translator of and commentator on this work has previously published appreciationsof Queneau's Sally Mara works (Raymond Queneau's Dubliners, Cambridge Scholars Publishing,2019; Queneau philologue, Sally romancire, ditions universitaires de Dijon, in press).