15 April 1934, Sunday

(A) In a diary note of 15 April 1934, Nałkowska* writes about Schulz’s visit to Warsaw* in April 1934. She remembers the performances of Crime and Punishment adapted and directed by Leon Schiller for the Polish Theatre and of Krasin by F. Wolf, at Michał Weichert’s Jewish Youth Theatre. “In the hustle of numerous jobs and tasks, the weekly presence of Bruno Schulz marked a streak of calm, tenderness, closeness. [...] We saw together Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Even though it seemed worse than the troupe of Russian actors from Prague three years ago, this time it still had a shocking effect on me. Later we saw a performance of Krasin at the Jewish Youth Theatre – where the bold avant-garde confusion between the stage and the audience was not as convincing as the great Trupa Tanencapa. Not only Bruno Schulz, but Bogusław Kuczyński resisted the impression”¹. Nałkowska sees a significant improvement in Schulz’s status as a writer: excellent reviews and established contact with outstanding figures from the literary community. “His success, which he is shyly astonished by, I perceive as a source of my personal glory. His book had been ready for three years before he came to me. Today he has excellent criticism and, moreover, plenty of letters with recognition from authoritative people (Witkiewicz*, Tuwim, Wittlin*, Berent’s praises, Przesmycki, Leśmian*, Staff)”². 

Nałkowska also writes about a private meeting she arranged for Schulz with writers who were enthusiastic about his work: “One of these days I invited a dozen people in the afternoon especially for Bruno – some of his enthusiasts: Błeszyński, Brucz, Wat, Czapski, Rudnicki, Boguszewska, Kornacki. There was also Karol Szymanowski, whose brother died recently, and Tarnowski, Irzykowski, Halinka and Gojawiczyńska (who also brings me praise, although generically more distant, like Choromański)”³. (mr) (transl. mw)

See also: 5 June 1934*, April 1934*.