Imperfect itineraries : literature and literary research in the archives

Archival research on literary texts, their production, transmission and reception shows that these processes remain imperfect and incomplete. The recent shift in scholarly interest from product to production, which archives have made possible, calls for reflection on the methodological limits that condition a researcher's ability to explore and exploit these archives. The aim of this collective work is to address the roles and meanings of imperfection in literary studies, both in the work of the authors we research and in the methods of identifying, exploring, and exploiting the material traces these authors leave behind.

The international contributors to this volume come from a variety of fields (genetic criticism, book history, scholarly editing, biography...) and cover different eras and geographies. With its comprehensive approach to various aspects of archival research, this book offers both seasoned researchers as well as students a unique opportunity to observe the different considerations that might be taken into account when exploring and exploiting archival documents.