Drogobych. Bruno Schulz writes a letter to Tadeusz Breza.
At the beginning of the letter to Tadeusz Breza, a friend writer, essayist and editor of Kurier Poranny,* Schulz mentions that he was, in fact, in Warsaw* two weeks before, but unfortunately he could not meet Breza: “My stay coincided with very unpleasant circumstances: Juna [Józefina Szelińska*, Schulz’s fiancée – editor’s note] was badly sick; soon afterwards I also fell ill and lay in bed for 10 days”. At that time, he only saw Witold Gombrowicz,* who showed him the manuscript of his new novel: “It is almost ready and it is wonderful”.
Schulz had less enthusiasm for his work from the last period: “My thing is still in its infancy”. He barely mentioned the volume of “old stories, ”Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass*, which he edited and illustrated. Once again – in a similar way as in the letter of 29 November 1936 – Schulz refers to his essay about Adam Grywałd*, Breza’s first novel, which was published shortly before in Tygodnik Ilustrowany*: “I had no appetite to catch and exhaust the essence of your novel in my review. Grywałd is very difficult to summarize and characterize. Very good form indeed. You should have received the ‘youth prize’. But it seems that behind-the-scenes reasons decide there”.
At the end of the letter, Schulz asks Breza about his artistic plans. He also mentions that he has taken Szelińska from Warsaw to Lviv for further treatment.
See also: January 1937*, 17 January 1937*. (jo)
