Façade, Desire, Human Drama. Approaching Bruno Schulz with Emmanuel Lévinas and Józef Tischner
Façade, Desire, Human Drama. Approaching Bruno Schulz with Emmanuel Lévinas and Józef Tischner

Summary/Abstract: The author interprets Bruno Schulz’s story “The street of crocodiles” from the perspective of philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and Jozef Tischner. Bruno Schulz, a Polish writer and painter, was born on 12 July 1892 in Drohobycz, a town near Lwów, situated in modern Western Ukraine. In his parents’ house mainly Polish was spoken, but he was also taught German which he did speak and write fluently. Most likely he was also capable of Yiddish language. Having finished school, Schulz started to study civil engineering and architecture in Lwów and Vienna but quit this career during WW I. In the re-founded Polish Republic Schulz earned his money from teaching arts at various schools in his home town. His first prints and drawings were exhibited in the early 1920’s. In this period he also began to write short stories and finally managed to publish his first collection (Th e Cinnamon Shops) in 1933. A frequent traveler to Warsaw and Zakopane, two important centres of Polish intelligentsia, he came into contact with Witold Gombrowicz, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Julian Tuwim, Zofi a Nałkowska and many more. At the same time he published reviews and essays as well as further short stories in several magazines and continued to draw.

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