Entkollektivierung: Zur Spannung von Individualität und Kollektivität in der Publikationsgeschichte der ‚Xenien‘

Abstract

In recent years collaborations have increasingly gained attention amongst scholars in literary studies. Since they are a common, but often neglected phenomenon, the specific practices of writing together were the dominant focus of these studies. This paper outlines some of these practices that shaped the collaboration between Goethe and Schiller. It emphasizes at first the indirect character of the collaboration that led to the ‘Xenien’, published in Schiller’s ‘Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1797’. Despite this remarkable cooperation that was mediated through letters and clean copies, the main interest of this paper is the afterlife of this collective that consisted at least of two authors and one work. While the practices of writing together end with the publication of the work, it is uncertain at which point the collective ceases to exist. The way Goethe and Schiller handled the intricate problem of integrating the collective work of the ‘Xenien’ in the individual editions of their complete works makes de-collectivating observable as a practice that is complementary to cooperative writing.