Warsaw. Bruno Schulz is awarded a prize of the Polish Academy of Literature (Złoty Wawrzyn).
“Złoty Wawrzyn” [“Golden Laurel”] was an award established by the Minister of Religious Creeds and Public Enlightenment (WRiOP) Janusz Jędrzejewicz. Schulz received it for his contribution to Polish literature. It was awarded by the Minister of the WRiOP at the request of the Polish Academy of Literature (PAL). According to the ministerial decree, the Laurels were awarded “for outstanding literary merits, outstanding activity in the preservation of Polish literature, outstanding publishing, organizational work, etc. in the field of the belles lettres, promoting passion for Polish literature, promoting reading and contributing in general to increasing interest in Polish literary work”. Lists of laureates in the following years indicate that the award was also awarded for merits to Polish art or for judicial rhetoric. In addition to the golden laurel, a silver one was also awarded – mainly for popularizing merits in various other milieus: emigration, the military, etc.
The winners of the PAL laurel received a commemorative badge and a diploma detailing their appreciated success. The gold badge had a diameter of 38 millimetres and consisted of six golden arms, joined by openwork patches. In the middle of the oval field covered with red enamel was a silver monogram AL (Academy of Literature). The badge was worn on a green ribbon with 37-millimeter white stripes. The honour of receiving the prize was not associated with financial profits; moreover – the cost of manufacturing the award was borne by the winners themselves. In 1936 it was 30 zlotys.
The “Academic Laurel” of the Polish Academy of Literature was by no means an elite prize. Several dozen people were awarded each year. In the category “outstanding literary work” in 1935, as many as 21 people were awarded; later, academics were no longer so generous, though. In 1938, together with Schulz, a number of authors were awarded: Wacław Gąsiorowski, Stefan Kiedrzyński, Zygmunt Kisielewski, Maria Kuncewiczowa, Władysław Sebyła, Zygmunt Zaleski, Karol Wiktor Zawodziński and Henryk Zbierzchowski. (mr) (transl. mw)
See also: 10 February 1935*.
