Adorno drafted books through notes, dictation, and up to four revisions

Evidence

For his writing, Adorno constantly made notes in a little notebook he carried with him at all times. He then dictated from the notes. The pages were typed with double-spacing and wide margins on all sidesoften in incomplete sentences. He then revised the typed pages, sometimes until none of the typed material was left and everything had been replaced with handwriting. This process was repeated sometimes up to four times. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2524

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with the earlier claim that Adorno married a paid secretary who transcribed his dictated texts with Horkheimer (ch48). — connects to: Adorno soured on Sohn-Rethel over his endless unfinished drafts — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 323
• SEED: An essay angle: the material practice of Adorno’s writing — notebook, dictation, four-layer revision — as a window into what his finished prose style cost and encoded.

Broader Connections

• Adorno soured on Sohn-Rethel over his endless unfinished drafts #responds-to (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 323