FROM "COLLECTIO" TOWARDS "LECTIO". COLLECTION IN LITERARY STUDIES

Abstract

The article reviews and categorizes ways in which the transdisciplinary concept of a collection interacts with literature and finds application in literary studies. First, it points out literary references that appear in works that approach the phenomenon of collecting from various perspectives and examines how literary contexts are used in texts written by art historians, aestheticians, museum professionals, cultural scholars, philosophers, historians, psychologists, medical professionals, etc. Then, Lachman presents a detailed list of references to the concept of a collection and collecting in literary analyses. She also discusses the following key issues (and examples thereof ): the collection in the context of literary practices and literary life (book market, publishing series/collections, readership, attitudes of fans, collector-oriented approaches in literary museums, libraries, archives, etc.); the writer as a collector; collecting and the collection as a literary theme; literary genres based on the concept of a collection; and the equivalents of the collection in various modes of expression and writing techniques. The article concludes with an attempt to examine the reasons for applying the concept of a collection to literature and literary studies, and the advantages and productive aspects of this strategy.