5 January 1938, Wednesday

Poznań. (A) Bruno Schulz meets Egga van Haardt, who illustrates his work. (B) He corresponds with Zenon Waśniewski, he sightsees Poznań.

(A) As transpires from Waśniewski’s* letter, it is the first or second day of Schulz’s visit in this city: “Your letter reached me in Poznań, where I am staying with a friend”1. The  main  aim of his visit was discussing with  Egga von Haardt* details concerning illustrations for Kometa2, Die Heimkehr3 and Mesjasz. Despite his previous  announcements4, Schulz leaves Poznań as late as 9 January*, as proved by an interview for a Poznań journal Nowy Kurier, conducted on 8 January 1938 roku, “the day before Mr Schulz leaves”5.

During these few days Schulz considers holding several exhibitions with Egga van Haardt in Warsaw, Paris and London, which will never come to fruition. He also visits the Museum of Greater Poland [Wielkopolska], the townhall and the Imperial Castle. He goes to the exhibition of Zygmunt Waliszewski in Salon 35, a gallery promoting the Kapists [members of the so-called Paris Committee group of Polish painters]6. (ts) (transl. ms)

 

See also: 2 October 1938*. 

  • 1
    Bruno Schulz’s letter to Zenon Waśniewski from 5 January 1938, [in:] idem, Dzieła zebrane, volume 5: Księga listów, compiled and edited by Jerzy Ficowski, revised by Stanisław Danecki, Gdańsk 2016, p. 92. It would be confirmed by a Nowy Kurier, journalist according to whom Schulz spent five days in Poznań. See “Rozmowa z autorem Sklepów cynamonowych (Wywiad z Brunonem Schulzem)”, Nowy Kurier, 11 January 1938, no. 7, pp. 4–5 (available online, http://www.wbc.poznan.pl, date of access: 15 December 2017).
  • 2
    Kometa with illustrations by Egga van Haardt will be published in no. 35 (774) of Wiadomości Literackie from 21 August 1938.
  • 3
    Egga von Haardt writes to Schulz about the finished illustrations to Die Heimkehr in a letter from 23 March 1938 (Bruno Schulz, Księga listów, p. 316).
  • 4
    “I am staying with very nice and intelligent people but I am already leaving tomorrow” (List Brunona Schulza do Zenona Waśniewskiego from 5 January 1938, [in:] ibidem, p. 92).
  • 5
    “Rozmowa z autorem Sklepów cynamonowych”…, pp. 4–5.
  • 6
    Ibidem.