Tévedések és felismerések

Szemelgetés kritikai kiadások tapasztalataiból

Absztrakt

Mistakes and Recognitions: Selected Experiences from Publishing Critical Editions
A report on the author’s experiences publishing the critical edition of Dezső Kosztolányi’s oeuvre, as well as Attila József ’s theoretical works. With the help of several illustrative examples, he wants to prove, on the one hand, that the genre requires a high degree of creativity, and, on the other hand, that it is not possible to adhere strictly to established guidelines. To create a critical edition is a very pragmatic task, and the unusual variegation of fiction and its incalculable baffling possibilities prevent any efforts to generalize. The author chooses editio maior over editio minor, given that the computer and the internet have removed any barriers to length, and the rise of interpretation (reception) has challenged the notion of the author-centered text, and the belief in an authentic, ideal state of the text. The Attila József edition posed particular difficulties for researchers, in that a significant portion of the texts did not appear during the poet’s lifetime (their date of creation is unclear), and there are many fragments among them, which required careful textual criticism to identify and piece together. It was impossible to circumvent Attila József ’s development as a thinker, and his fundamental conceptual understanding, in considering the place and weight of the various versions.