Ivan Blatný (; 21 December 1919 in
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
,
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
– 5 August 1990 in
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
) was a
Czech poet and a member of ''
Skupina 42 (Group 42).
Life
Blatný, the son of the writer
Lev Blatný, was a member of the ''
Skupina 42'' (Group 42 - association of Czech modern artists).
In March 1948, after the
communist seizure of power in his native country, Blatný left his country - just one of many figures in
Czech Literature
Czech literature can refer to literature written in Czech language, Czech, in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia, earlier the Lands of the Bohemian Crown), or by Czech people.
Most literature in the Czech Republic is now written in C ...
who chose to emigrate rather than go underground. However, he found life in exile difficult, as did many other émigré Czech writers such as
Ivan Diviš. During his subsequent life in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, he spent time in various mental hospitals, suffering from paranoid fear that
StB agents will kidnap him back to
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
.
From 1984 until shortly before his death, he lived in a retirement home in
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea, often simply called Clacton, is a seaside town and seaside resort, resort in the county of Essex, on the east coast of England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District, wi ...
. A plaque commemorating his stay can be seen on the wall of the Edensor Care Home in Orwell Road. His ashes were taken to the Central Cemetery in Brno.
[''Eva Bloch u.a. (Hg.): Grundbegriffe und Autoren ostmitteleuropäischer Exilliteraturen 1945-1989. Ein Beitrag zur Systematisierung und Typologisierung. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag 2004, ) '']
In 2017 a new road on the site of the old
St Clements Hospital in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
was named Ivan Blatny Close in memory of the one time resident.
Works
At the beginning of his career, Blatný mostly wrote using conventional rhyming and rhythmic forms such as alexandrine quatrains, most notably in the ''Brno Elegies'' (Czech, ''Melancholické procházky''; Prague: Melantrich, 1941). The correct translation of the Czech title is 'Melancholic Walks', but Blatný's original title ''Brněnské elegie'' was forbidden by the war-time censor for its suggestion that the poet might have been regretful about the German invasion of Czechoslovakia. The poems themselves make no reference whatsoever to contemporary events, but concentrate on Brno and its hinterland, with a beautiful hypnotic lyricism.
Publications
* ''Melancholické procházky'' (Prague: Melantrich, 1941)
* ''Tento večer'' (1945)
* ''Hledání přítomného času'' (1947)
* ''Stará bydliště'' (1979)
* ''Pomocná škola Bixley'' (1979; Praha: KDM 1982)
* ''Ivan Blatný: The Drug of Art. Selected Poems'', ed. Veronika Tuckerová (New York:
Ugly Duckling Presse, 2007). Translations by
Anna Moschovakis, Matthew Sweney,
Justin Quinn, Veronika Tuckerová,
Alex Zucker.
See also
*
List of Czech writers
References
External links
Edensor Care Home and location of plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blatny, Ivan
1919 births
1990 deaths
Czech male poets
Group 42
Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)
Masaryk University alumni
20th-century Czech poets
20th-century Czech male writers
Writers from Brno
Czechoslovak emigrants to the United Kingdom
Czechoslovak defectors
Czechoslovak exiles