Book Sources of the Text of Ivan Bunin’s Early Works

Abstract

This article presents the first attempt to shed light on an important source study issue: the degree of Ivan Bunin’s participation in the preparation of book editions of his early works of 1887–1902. In the light of the work on the first academic Complete Works and Letters of Ivan Bunin, it is necessary to investigate this problem in its own right in order to determine which editions are ‘authorial’ and thus can be considered sources for the textual work with the writer’s early works, and which editions are not. Drawing on all the known evidence (correspondence, publishing contracts and agreements, biographical data of the writer), we have examined in detail the history of the publication of several books by Bunin (poetry and prose collections). The degree of N. D. Teleshov’s participation in the preparation for the publication of two books by Bunin was estimated (proofreading and signing the book into print). Non-author’s book editions of Bunin’s works, to which the author had no relation whatsoever, have been identified (therefore, they cannot be sources for the scholarly (critical) publication of the writer’s works).