31 December 1934, Monday

Warsaw. Bruno Schulz spends New Year’s Eve in Warsaw. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz writes a humorous poem titled “Do Schulza“. [“To Schulz”]

A spontaneous poem written by the author on a piece of cardboard, probably in Witkiewicz’s flat in Bracka St. 231, is a kind of literary provocation alluding to the erotic obsessions of the author of Xięga bałwochwalcza2, as well as being indicative of Witkiewicz’s mischief, which was supposed to enliven their New Year’s Eve party. 

Not much can be said about the circumstances of the origin of the poem, as no account survived beyond the poem itself, found in 1976 by Stefan Okołowicz. Not much is known about how Schulz spent the New Year’s Eve. Perhaps he went to the party organized by Witold Gombrowicz: “I threw an artistic binge in my mother’s flat at Chocimska St. […]. Lasting until 6 a.m., the party was a tell-tale sign of my solid position in the Warsaw literary world. I do not remember well who came, but there was Breza, the Mauersbergers, Tonio Sobański, Rudnicki and I think, Choromański, there was the brotherhood of drunks led by Światek Karpiński and «Minio», or Janusz Minkiewicz, there were various actresses, Zdzisław Czermański, Kanarek (nowadays a well-known painter in the States)… and maybe Witkacy, and maybe Bruno Schulz…”3. (ts) (transl. ms)

See also: end of December 1934 – 19 January 1935*, 1 January 1935*. 

  • 1
    This place is mentioned by Stefan Okołowicz, who is the first one to write about  Witkacy’s poem. See Stefan Okołowicz, “Śliwka i tacet. O spotkaniach Schulza i Witkacego”, Schulz/Forum 2016, no. 8, p. 49n.
  • 2
    The poem alludes to a drawing from Xięga bałwochwalcza II (cf. Bruno Schulz, Księga obrazów, compiled and edited by Jerzy Ficowski, Gdańsk 2012, pp. 266–267), showing a woman pulling up her dress and a kneeling man with Schulz’s features. About other provocations by Witkiewicz see Stefan Okołowicz, op. cit., pp. 62–64.
  • 3
    Witold Gombrowicz, Wspomnienia polskie, Kraków 2002, p. 115.