Wojtyła Whom We Know: On the Problems of Editing the Literary and Theatrical Works by Karol Wojtyła: A Textological Aspect

Urszula Karol JAŃCZYK

Katedra: Tekstologii i Edytorstwa, Instytut Literaturoznawstwa, Wydział: Nauk Humanistycznych, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland , Poland

Abstract

The article is an attempt to analyze Karol Wojtyła’s literary and theatrical works by focusing on the presentation of the history of his texts, from their origin, to different versions, and ultimately to a final version (if possible), and to reveal the creative process. Included in the critical edition of Wojtyła’s writings, the drafts of his works and the critical apparatus (containing different textual variants) make it possible to recognize a new meaning of the published texts. The article emphasizes an important role of drafts and textual variance in Karol Wojtyła’s work, at the same time indicating the related textological problems faced by a scholarly editor. The problems in question concern establishing the final version of a given text while preserving its author’s artistic intention and avoiding arbitrary editorial decisions. In the case of Wojtyła’s output, such a task proves extremely difficult as the author failed to adequately supervise all the editions of his works or approved for publication two different versions of the same text. The article proposes to look at Wojtyła’s literary work from a new perspective based on the findings and methods of genetic editing.

Keywords:

textology, textual criticism, draft, textual variance, creative process, critical edition, artistic intention, Karol Wojtyła, John Paul II