Alfred Polgar and Theory of Cafe Central

  Noted as the "master of small forms," the diversity of Polgar's works included sketches, feuilletons, essays, portraits and film and book reviews. Politically and socially, Polgar held a liberal stance, which maintained him a generally favorable voice in the literary community and amongst the circle of young vienna, particularly in contrast to his contemporary, Kraus. His entrance into both the world of literature and the cafe paralleled each other chronologically, acknowledgment of the fact that two virtually thrived off of each other throughout the era. His presence in the coffeehouse scene was a vital thread in the fabric of its culture, yet he was able to take on the artists' role of observer and dissect the nature of the institution.
   

  He took the view from the inside, and looked even farther in. His essay, "Theory of Cafe Central," published in 1926 was such literature which was not just the product of the cafe, but the recording of its very history as it unraveled as well. He painted the elusive and intangible quality of the coffeehouse that made it the stuff of legends. "It is... a world view and one, to be sure, whose innermost essence is to not observe the world at all."  Equally, it was a "here weakness develops those powers unique to itself, the fruits of unfruitfulness ripen, and every non-owndership bears interest." In addition to taking on a life of its own, the spirit of the cafe gave life-- a dose of awesome to the otherwise creatively barren.