after July 4, 1932

From 4 to 30 July 1932*, Bruno Schulz resides in Żywiec*, where he takes part in a summer course for teachers of crafts¹. The course program includes a lecture “Issues in Psychology”, run by Professor Stefan Szuman* from Jagiellonian University. The speaker apparently fascinated Schulz and earned his trust; the writer decided to ask Szuman for an opinion about his unpublished book of fiction, which was then entitled Wspomnienia o ojcu [Remembrance of the Father].

In a letter to Jerzy Ficowski* of 25 January 1968, Szuman recalls: “I remember one evening when he approached my table in the hotel, where I was resting alone. He informed me that my lectures had appealed to him and that this was the motive for asking me to read the manuscript of his novel. Schulz seemed kind and somehow very interested right away. However, I told him that usually the things I was given to read were not interesting, and that he would probably be disappointed in his trust in me. But I took the manuscript to my hotel room and read it in a few hours, at night. I was dazzled and [...] convinced of the great value of what I read”².

The next day, Szuman promises to pass Schulz’s typescript to the literary critic Kazimierz Czachowski. He also suggests changing the title of the book to The Cinnamon Shops. Chachowski’s efforts, contrary to what Szuman suggests in his letter to Ficowski, did not lead to the publication of The Cinnamon Shops. (mr) (transl. mw)

See also: 24 July 1932*, before 22 October 1933*, 24 November 1933*.