B is for Bruno Schulz
I found this author in a round about way. When I was a teenager I went with some girlfriends to see Street of Crocodiles by the Brothers Quay. We had no idea what we were getting into, so we got really baked beforehand. To this day, it remains one of my most favorite under the influence experiences. Anyhow, I became obsessed with BQ and that led to the discovery of the author who had written the book that inspired the film.
A Polish Jew, Schulz (July 12, 1892 - November 19, 1942) was an artist, writer and teacher, who spent most of his life in the town of his birth, Drohobycz, Poland. Two books of his stories were published in the 1930s -- Street of Crocodiles and Under the Sign of the Hourglass -- and a small collection of his artwork and letters have been preserved and published. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Schulz was forced to live in the ghetto of Drohobycz. During this period he continued to produce work, including a mural in his apartment, which was thought to have been destroyed until it was uncovered in 2001.
Bruno Schulz was unceremoniously shot in the street, while carrying home a loaf of bread, by a Gestapo officer in 1942. The story goes that this officer was a rival of another officer who had taken a shining to Schulz's work and was protecting him, but I don't know if this has ever been corroborated.
While I have read Street of Crocodiles many times, it has been several years since I picked it up, so I can only record a vague impression. One thing that just came to mind are the parallels between Schulz and one of my favorite visual artists, Joseph Cornell. They were both recluses, who led rather circumvented lives, rarely venturing far from home. They both lacked formal training, but produced fantastic and unparalleled work. They are both loosely associated with movements and other artists -- Cornell with the Surrealists and Schulz is compared to Kafka and Proust, but developed and practiced their craft independently. They share imagery, themes (especially the secret lives of inanimate), and richly descriptive styles. They possibly share a tormented erotic life, but that is (mostly) speculation on my part.
I'm sorry there wasn't more of a book review here, but it's late and I'm tired, and their are plenty of places you can find them.
A Polish Jew, Schulz (July 12, 1892 - November 19, 1942) was an artist, writer and teacher, who spent most of his life in the town of his birth, Drohobycz, Poland. Two books of his stories were published in the 1930s -- Street of Crocodiles and Under the Sign of the Hourglass -- and a small collection of his artwork and letters have been preserved and published. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Schulz was forced to live in the ghetto of Drohobycz. During this period he continued to produce work, including a mural in his apartment, which was thought to have been destroyed until it was uncovered in 2001.
Bruno Schulz was unceremoniously shot in the street, while carrying home a loaf of bread, by a Gestapo officer in 1942. The story goes that this officer was a rival of another officer who had taken a shining to Schulz's work and was protecting him, but I don't know if this has ever been corroborated.
While I have read Street of Crocodiles many times, it has been several years since I picked it up, so I can only record a vague impression. One thing that just came to mind are the parallels between Schulz and one of my favorite visual artists, Joseph Cornell. They were both recluses, who led rather circumvented lives, rarely venturing far from home. They both lacked formal training, but produced fantastic and unparalleled work. They are both loosely associated with movements and other artists -- Cornell with the Surrealists and Schulz is compared to Kafka and Proust, but developed and practiced their craft independently. They share imagery, themes (especially the secret lives of inanimate), and richly descriptive styles. They possibly share a tormented erotic life, but that is (mostly) speculation on my part.
I'm sorry there wasn't more of a book review here, but it's late and I'm tired, and their are plenty of places you can find them.