Letter from Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz written 07.09.1936

Author Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

Category incoming correspondence, Polish researchers

Archive Ingarden Family archives

Date of creation 7.09.1936

Related places Warsaw

Reference code in archive ARI

Resource type letter

Subject matter academic issues, personal issues, publication issues

Field ontology, philosophy

Tags #beer, #Edmund Husserl, #essence of being, #Forschungsterrain, #Germany, #lectures, #literary work, #Ludwig Wittgenstein, #Maria Ingarden, #mountains, #ontology, #polemics with Kotarbiński, #Polish Philosophical Society, #PTF, #Roman Ingarden, #Rudolf Carnap, #Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, #Szturm de Strem, #Tadeusz Kotarbiński, #Warsaw, #Witkacy

7.IX 1936
Honoured and Dear Professor,
Although those who leave normally write first, “I draw these few words”, because I have the impression that you have been unhappy with me lately. I haven’t had any beer since your departure. I was in the mountains 3 times and I got refreshed. I finished the polemic with Kotarbeusz and I am starting transcribing the lecture for the Philosophical Society and [moving on to] Carnap. After arriving in W[arsaw], I will correct Wittgenstein and after typewriting it, I will send it to you. I do not know if you know the golden rule of Szturm de Strem, which states that the worse work displaces the better one. If you have something important to do, you first smoke, drink tea, write a few letters, attend to other less important matters and take upon the essence of things with the remaining energy. Well, I demand and simply require that in my lifetime (do you realize that we will not exist, and others will perform cunnilingus, eat and think about the essence of being – and who are the others – look through the window, Ignacy, the others are there) you finish your ontology and throw away this lousy literary work that already seems to be rotting away somewhere under a fence. This is the bad influence of Husserl, this thicket of artificial gardens and this Forschungsterrain without an end. These are basic and simple things, and you must complete them as soon as possible. Even counting only on me as a reader and on a few germans [sic]. I apologize for this outburst and I enclose words of respect and affection for both of you.

Witkacy
F.G. = family greetings