How to read a page of draft : genetic criticism and material textuality

The starting point of the study is the question whether the notions of the "bibliographic code"and "linguistic code" (introduced in George Bornstein’s article How to Read a Page. Modernism and Material Textuality) can be applied in the field of genetic criticism. Next, the author focuses on the genesis of Aleksander Wat’s poem U szczytu antynomij [At the Peak of Antinomies], whose subsequent drafts evolved in terms of not only their linguistic but also bibliographic code. In conclusion, some remarks are presented concerning the auracity of the manuscript, a possible new edition of Wat’s poem and the methodological alliance between genetic criticism and studies into the materiality of the text.