Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: In 2012, a number of events were held to mark both the centenary of the birth and the 70th anniversary of the death of the Drohobych-born writer Bruno Schulz, including memorial, public awareness and academic projects which resulted in numerous publications that helped ensure the continued vigorous growth of Schulzology in the 21st century. The year 2013 likewise provided a major impetus for the popularization of Schulz’s achievements, since in this year the copyrights to Schulz’s works expired, allowing them to be freely reproduced. A review of the most recent published works in Schulzology serves as an opportunity to ask questions of a more general nature about trends in research on Schulz’s work, which is dominated by W. Panas’ cabbalistic interpretation. This includes other readings of the author of „The Street of Crocodiles” from within a Jewish context, efforts at a radical reorientation in research and philosophical hermeneutics (M.P. Markowski), attempts to read Schulz’s work in terms of political problematics, and the phenomena of the “celebritisation” of literary criticism.

Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: The article discusses some key issues related to worldview in the work of Bruno Schulz, analyzing it through the lens of posthumanist philosophy. In the article, issues such as Schulzian anthropology, the notion of principium individuationis, and the position of the author of "The Street of Crocodiles" in relation to civilizational change are presented in discourse with critical readings of Schulz’s writing. Aspects hardly noticed in previous interpretations are brought to the fore, such as, the laboratory featured in the stories, and the depiction of Egga van Haardt and the convalescent in the essay “A Skeptic’s Wanderings”. The demiurgic acts of the Father in Schulz’s stories are considered in light of artistic activities within mainstream bio art. The author explores Schulz’s characteristic prosthetic principle of creation, relating it to both the construction of bodies and a philosophy of Schulz’s language.

Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: The article discusses Bruno Schulz’s disabled characters, focusing on the stories “Dodo” and “Edzio”, in terms of the situation of disabled people during the interwar period. Highlighted are the problems faced by disabled persons who are portrayed in these stories. The attitude of the narrator to disabled characters is also analyzed: on the one hand, he is fascinated by people with deformities, who to him are a form of degenerated matter, and speaks about them with irony; on the other hand, he looks at them through the prism of the difficulties they encounter in life (social exclusion, a lack of self-realization, physical barriers, an inability to use free time, poor social conditions, unsatisfied basic needs).

Section: Schulz XXI

Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: The article focuses primarily on the ontological status of the object. Schulz’s stories often feature as nodal points ordinary things that in the eyes of the characters are transformed into extraordinary things. To describe this transformation, the author focuses on one story – “Spring”. The main aim of the texts is to reconstruct Schulz’s ideas about the ontology of things. Heidegger’s late philosophy is used as the instrument for carrying out this reconstruction. The author tries not to overuse Heidegger’s nomenclature; however, he extracts from Schulz’s story the figure of the “quadrilateral”, the “Between” that exists between the earth and sky, and the gods and mortals.

Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: The primary aim of this paper is to discuss the staging of The Street of Crocodiles by the group Complicite in 1992. The performance was based on Bruno Schulz’s "The Street of Crocodiles" and "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hour Glass" and was inspired by his biography. Complicite is at present one of the most exciting British theater groups with an international focus. In relating the history of Complicite, as well as its foundations and methods, the author shows how its production of "The Street of Crocodiles" represented an attempt to capture the fluid and changing reality found in Schulz’s prose. Moving away from the primacy of the text, and shifting the centre of gravity to the physical and creative dimensions of the performance made it possible to create art deeply immersed in the Schulzian universe. What seems untranslatable has been translated onto the stage, and Schulz’ prose has proven to be an excellent means for rendering it in accordance with contemporary sensibilities.

Section: Schulz XXI

Abstract: "Idol" is an online game based on the paragraphs from Bruno Schulz’s stories. The purpose of this literary experiment in nonlinear and ludic narrative is the experience of the lost world of Schulz in action, placing the helm that guides the stories in the hands of the reader. Can the tradition of textual adventure games provide a suitable platform for communicating with readers? Or perhaps we must wait until the future for a fully immersive depiction of the Schulz universe? Using "Idol" as a starting point, the author tries to identify future directions for similar adaptations. In one of these, language is used to describe an imaginary reality, while remaining a world into itself. In another, the world itself becomes a text and the primary goal of the designers. The first type fits within the textual tradition of digital adaptation, while the second reflects a movement towards multimedia.