The critical book edition of Christine Lavant´s works

Based upon a preliminary project ("Cataloguing Christine Lavant`s Posthumous Papers" [= P 10463-HIS]), in which Christine Lavant`s posthumous papers were transcribed and electronically listed, a new project titled "Preparation of the Critical Edition of Christine Lavant`s Works" [= P 12836-ARS] was started in 1998. The planned edition will be published as CD ROM (using the data basis "Folio Views") and as a book edition in presumably ten volumes. As supplementary information we want to mention the project P 14110-ARS, dedicated to the edition of Christine Lavant`s letters. In the course of the project research we succeeded in finding three (!) formerly unknown collections of posthumous papers by Christine Lavant in private property. Despite of difficult circumstances, caused by the changing ownership, we did everything in order to integrate all material into the edition projects. So all our plans had to be adapted to the new situation. By August 2001, the entire corpus of Christine Lavant`s texts should be completely transferred into "Folio Views". The actual preparations for the print edition could not be tackled yet. Due to newly discovered material the project is permanently growing and, as our edition is the first of its kind, we could not refer to any previous experiences. The project`s primary aim is the development and realisation of the definite edition plan of the book edition. In detail it concerns following procedures: - the continuous completion, the data administration and the maintenance of the CD ROM regarding following aspects: - the transcription of the texts (including diacritical characters) - further commentaries - the presentation of the texts (without diacritical characters) as they will be published in print - a qualitative sample of approximately 400 scans of manuscripts by Christine Lavant (poetry and prose), illustrating the development and changes of her handwriting. - scans of all illegible or ambiguous parts - a summary of Christine Lavant`s vita including documents, photos, films, audio-material - the conception of contents and form of print edition (presumably 10 volumes). In detail this means: - the definition of the volumes` sequence - the definition of the sequence of the texts within the books - extracts of the CD ROM concerning the following aspects: - the most elaborate version of a poem or a story - an appendix, in which the most important versions are registered - a selection of the most substantial information from the extensive comments and explanations on the CD ROM, which are of interest for a broader, non-specialised public - co-ordination with the publishing house, including layouts and corrections

The international reputation of the Carinthian poetess Christine Lavant (1915-1973), who wrote both poetry and short stories, is continually increasing. A number of successful new publications and translations of her literary works in the last years has been the main reason for this positive development, so as many other Lavant-related activities and events in the context of two preceding FWF-projects (P 10463-HIS and P 12836-ARS) since 1995. The final aim of all these efforts should culminate in a critical edition of Lavant`s complete works - an aim which is realized by now on the basis of "Folio views", an electronic full text-data-base with special research-functions (e.g. for genres or text genetic questions). In the course of the project many challenges had to be met due to the discovery of several voluminous compendia of manuscripts by the author in private property; these manuscripts had been unknown until then and were integrated into the original planning. Moreover, two co-workers were exchanged and new ones had to be made acquainted with the complex processes of the editorial work. According to a revised concept, the two parts of the edition (CD-ROM with variants and documentary material + 11 books for common readers) were comprised. Instead of producing only some of the books, the remaining time was used to make reading-texts of all manuscripts, to link and incorporate them - together with many commentaries - into "Folio views". Based on these information it should not be difficult to edit books on any better occasion. The result is that all of Christine Lavant`s works, published or not published in her lifetime, are available in two formats: 1. as a critical edition for researchers and scholars; 2. as texts for readers with non-academic, less specialised interests. The CD-ROM contains: - transcripts of all manuscripts and typoscripts (with diacritical symbols that indicate variants, deleted passages, insertions and similar characteristics of literary text-construction; total number: 5400); - reading-texts (= the most elaborate form of a poem or a tale respectively; no fragments; without diacritical symbols) which represent the preparatory work for books; - philological and documentary information on all the manuscripts with editorial comments, summaries and synoptic descriptions of their history and contexts; - transcipts of all works published at Lavant`s lifetime (following their first edition) - a choice of poems and texts published in newspapers and literary magazines (total number: more than 200) - transcipts of about 120 texts by Lavant which were published after her death for the first time; - about 700 scans of manuscripts - online help-function of the Lavant-data-base.