April 24, 1934, Tuesday

This letter is an overdue response to that “long letter” by Waśniewski*, which Schulz wrote only on April 2 because of his departure to Warsaw*. This time, however, he fails to reach the level of familiarity set by Waśniewski. He begins with an apology and an explanation of his delay in correspondence: “I read your confession with a major feeling of tension and tenderness. If I do not repay you with an equal abundance of confessions – it is because of a strange inhibition that I have been subject to for some time, some lack of joy, a depression of which I do not find a sufficient cause. I must be neurotic”¹. This state of mind can hardly be explained by the life situation in which he finds himself. A few months ago, he published The Cinnamon Shops, which made him a well-known and recognisable writer almost overnight. Schulz is aware of this. “I would now have”, he confides in Waśniewski, “a lot of reasons to be satisfied, I could allow myself a little joy, and instead I experience an undefined fear, worry, grief for life. I neglect important correspondence that I care about, I do not write anything; even rewriting something that has already been written causes me an insurmountable disgust”². Even if the last sentences are an indirect justification for not fulfilling the promises made to the editor Waśniewski, the general key had to be the same as Schulz metaphorically expressed it: “I am already on the other side of all springs”³.

Now he can ask Waśniewski for patience about the piece for Kamena. He can also refuse to participate in the Mickiewicz issue. He’d rather not do artworks for the issue either. He uses the cliché-verre technique, which he describes as tedious and adds that “its cost is considerable – and so is the work itself”. For this reason, he adds, he does not accept the offer of Rój*, which has ordered a dozen or so pieces from him: “I will not do it, although I could earn several hundred zlotys. This technique is not suitable for mass production”⁴. 

The letter ends with a declaration: “I understand your impatience and longing for a wider horizon. I have been experiencing the same. Finding you was a strange and beautiful event for me. We would probably always stay in touch with each other, but do not expect from me letters as rich in content as you write yourself – for the reasons mentioned above. Do not let this discourage you and I am asking you for further letters, which I read with real pleasure”⁵.

See also: March 15, 1934, March 24, 1934, April 2, 193[4], June 5, 1934, June 23, 1934, August 28, 1934, September 14, 1934, September 30, 1934, October 6, 1934, October 15, 1934, November 7, 1934, November 15, 1934, December 19, 1934, January 28, 1935, March 16, 1935, [March 25, 1935], June 24, 1935, July 13, 1935, August 3, 1935, [August 7, 1935], June 2, 1937, August 4, 1937, [5 January 1938], April 24, 1938. (sr) (transl. mw)