Podcasts Other Radio Prague International - Topic «Arts» Poet Blatný honoured in UK: “One of the most improbable heroes has got his own street”

Poet Blatný honoured in UK: “One of the most improbable heroes has got his own street”

Published: Sept. 11, 2020, 11:14 a.m.

A street in the UK town of Ipswich was officially named Ivan Blatný Close on Thursday, in honour of the great Czech poet. Blatný, who defected from Czechoslovakia after the Communist takeover, spent decades in a mental hospital that stood in the same location. I asked Martin Reiner, author of the late poet’s biography, about Blatný’s relationship to Ipswich, where he spent time in different institutions.