Tea Tvalavadze
PhD in Philology
Giorgi Leonidze State Museum of Georgian Literature
First Deputy Director
Tbilisi, Georgia
Tea Tvalavadze
PhD in Philology
Giorgi Leonidze State Museum of Georgian Literature
First Deputy Director
Tbilisi, Georgia
Textological research of Galaktion Tabidze’s notes on books
Abstract
Manuscripts kept in archives, museums and private collections are of particular importance for the study and publication of writers’ biographies and literary heritages. The main subject of textology is the written text and related issues, while researches are conducted to describe the sources, to clarify their interdependence, to identify the time, motive and creative history of the creation. Works preserved in the archives, as well as records, correspondence, memoirs, diaries, inscriptions on books and photographs, shed light on many events and allow to obtain a new understanding of the writer’s work.
Galaktion Tabidze’s archive is distinguished among the archives in the Museum of Literature in terms of volume and variety. In 2005-2008, the museum published Galaktion Tabidze’s archival twenty-five volumes, which contain poems, diaries, personal or official correspondence, photos. In 2012, Galaktion Tabidze’s website was created using autographs and artifacts preserved in the museum and other archives. Working on the website revealed that there are still unpublished texts in the poet’s archives.
A part of the poems and their variants in the books kept in the Galaktion Tabidze’s library have been included in the eighth volume and posted on the website. However, the records regarding the writer’s contemporary literary processes and art in general are still unknown. Here we encounter the translations of the poet, the memories evoked by the content of the poems or characters of other authors, the remarks on the works of this or that writer; Noteworthy are the bibliographic notes on where and when the works of the poet were published. With these small hints or extensive notes, we learn about the poet’s creative laboratory, the process of creating works, the manner of writing, and other important aspects.
Most of the inscriptions in the books of one of the most studied and published authors in Georgia are unpublished and, consequently, unexplored. The twenty-five volumes do not contain the records and notes made in 140 books of the poet’s personal library preserved in the Museum. The transcripts of 60 editions preserved in the Galaktion Tabidze’s Chkhvishi House-Museum are even more inaccessible to researchers. These sources are extremely important for studying the writer’s biography and literary heritage and for refining existing information.
The research will use the latest digital technologies, textual and source study approaches, step-by-step, corpus and historical-comparative research methods to identify difficult-to-read places, date records and identify individuals.
Keywords: Manuscripts, Notes on books, Textual studies, Galaktion Tabidze.