Nowy Sącz. Bogusław Kuczyński destroys an illustrated, bound copy of The Cinnamon Shops manuscript donated to Zofia Nałkowska by Schulz.
In July 1935, Zofia Nałkowska* resides in Nowy Sącz, living in the Polonia Hotel at Narutowicza St. She arrives there because she wants to be closer to her partner, Bogusław Kuczyński*, who in a nearby unit takes military training as an officer cadet. During one of the meetings between Nałkowska and Kuczyński, a dramatic event takes place. In a fit of rage, Kuczyński destroys several items, including a special copy of The Cinnamon Shops that Schulz gifted to Nałkowska*: “Bruno Schulz’s book bound in dark brown silk, illustrated with original drawings, with a long maximum dedication – a thing not returned at all, unrepeatable, unique, precious, strange”. In an entry in her Diaries, Nałkowska notes that although she initially perceived this act of devastation as a manifestation of savagery and barbarism, she later felt that Kuczyński’s behaviour could be caused by his envy of Schulz. “It was not until then, much later, that it must have been a source of torment for him, that he had endured nearly a year and stopped himself, and then that something came upon him that he could not stand”. (mr) (transl. mw)
See also:15 February 1934* and 1 January 1936* and 16 April 1933*, June 1933*, 11 July 1933*, 19 July 1933*, August 1933*, 15 April 1934*, 1 January 1936*, June 1939*.
