The Author for Himself. Literary Self-Portraits

Abstract

The article puts the spotlight on those specific genres in which the author returns to the process of writing of his works, creating a kind of “bioliterature”. Seemingly seeking for the biographical projections of creativity, in fact the author turns the writing itself into intrigue. In the form of essays, interviews, commentaries, and other “epitexts” (Genette), the author blurs the boundary that connects and separates the text on the one hand and its interpretations on the other. Thereby, he takes the work out of its fictional world and gives it performativity, assigning it a role in the real life. Thus, while speaking and writing about his works, the author draws his self-portrait as well. This conscious and purposeful authorial representation shows the way the author sees himself, his work, but it also hints the care for the image he wants to leave for posterity.