oulipo:

i'm (belatedly) reading part ii ("the state of constraint") of mcsweeney's quarterly concern issue 22, and i think it's fantastic. i had never heard of oulipo before (and i actually thought that it was some sort of hoax at first), but i'm definitely an admirer now.

it's a movement, led by french writers and mathematicians, that focuses on the use constrained writing techniques. each piece must abide by some sort of rule -- n + 7, anaphora, univocalism, lipogram, etc. -- so that every one is like a little literary puzzle. so interesting.