Reaching Out to the Reader: The Audio Guide as a Tool in Digital Genetic Editions

When designing a digital genetic edition, one of the most challenging and demanding tasks, upon which the success or failure of the editing venture lies, is the ability of the editor to communicate the transformations of the work that took place during the process of its writing in a comprehensible, reliable, and simultaneously attractive way. In this paper we suggest supplementary tools that may appear valuable in designing a digital reading environment suitable not only for the expert but also the common — motivated — reader and address some matters that appear crucial for reading and interacting with digital genetic editions. The challenge to reach out to the reader of the digital genetic edition and seek tools to improve her reading experience stems from our engagement with D. Solomòs' manuscripts and incomplete works and, more particularly, from the implementation of a digital scholarly edition of his manuscript corpus that will also include genetic editions for some of his works.