An initiative of the
Franz Kafka Edition (FKA)
Franz Kafka: Oxford Octavo Journals 5 & 6. Facsimile edition
Edited by Roland Reuß and Peter Staengle
Two volumes, together with Franz Kafka Journal 7
ISBN: 978-3-86600-047-6
ca. 150 pages facsimile, inclusive CD-ROM
An edition of the Instituts für Textkritik
With the two octavo journals which Kafka kept in August and September 1917 and in part took up again later, the historical-critical Frank Kafka edition presents a further volume from the collection of the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Like the four Ox8 already edited, these journals are fully written in pencil. Besides scrapped story plans and openings, fragments of dialogue, autobiographical notes and remarks on read books, they comprise numerous pages with Hebrew exercises as well as, under the title “On Jewish Theatre”, the opening of Kafka’s reworking of an essay by his friend Jizchak Löwy.
The edition makes available for the first time the two journals in their authentic form and thus serves two objectives: the facsimile conserves the entries written in pencil, the material existence of which is under grave threat; and the diplomatic transcription of the handwritten texts provides the basis for analysing Kafka’s writing process and the interconnections between the manuscripts.
The historical-critical edition of all of Franz Kafka’s manuscripts, printed material and typoscripts is edited by Roland Reuß and Peter Staengle.
In contrast to all hitherto editions of Kafka, the entire surviving corpus of his work is documented, with all texts presented faithfully to the original versions. The Franz Kafka edition (FKA) refrains from intervening in the wording of the manuscripts. The transcription reproduces all of Kafka’s deletions and variations as well as deciphering his stenographic notes. The generalising and standardising of differences in the text are excluded as are modernising or unaccounted for corrections and alterations.
The edition is published in Stroemfeld-Verlag.
Imprint / Print