Philologist – Detective (Grzegorz Ojcewicz, An introduction to investigative philology. A selection of texts from 2008–2020)

Abstract

This article reviews the book Wstęp do filologii śledczej. Wybór tekstów a lat 2008– 2020 by Grzegorz Ojcewicz. In my paper, I pay particular attention to the pioneering method of Ojcewicz’s research, proposed and implemented in the following parts of the monograph. This method consists in combining in scientific reflection the competences of a philologist, literary historian and textologist with the professionalism and apparatus of an investigative detective. The masterful use of the new research method allowed the author to explain (or come closer to explaining) the mysterious stories of the life and death of “cursed” Russian writers, but also historical figures. The chapter devoted to the fate of Marina Tsvetaeva, especially the last weeks of her life, is certainly of special importance in the history of literature.