From the Margins of Bosnian Textology and Literary Archeology: Comparative-Textological Analysis of Mak Dizdar's Stone Sleeper and Old Bosnian Texts

Abstract

The paper aims to establish the idea of Bosnian textology on the basis of the comparative-textological analysis of different editions of Mak Dizdar's Stone Sleeper and Old Bosnian Texts. Different fates and receptions of the two books have been analyzed from the perspective of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian culture and literature in the 20th century, with an emphasis on the crossroads as one of its key topographical figures. The origin of this feature was ascribed to Midhat Begic, even though Mak Dizdar had used it long before him with the same exact meaning that would be dominantly exploited in the future. The paper then problematizes different editions of Stone Sleeper and questions the closing word of textological attempts that aspire to be characterized as authentic and definitive.

Keywords

• bosnian textology
• literary archeology
• mak dizdar
• stone sleeper
• old bosnian texts