Ivan Blatný
Ivan Blatný (; December 21, 1919, Brno, Czechoslovakia – August 5, 1990, Colchester, United Kingdom) 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 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, he spent time in various mental hospitals, suffering from paranoid fear that StB agents will kidnap him back to Czechoslovakia. From 1984 until shortly before his death, he lived in a retirement home in Clacton-on-Sea. 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. In 2017 a new road on the site of the old St Clements Hospital in Ipswich 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. Ivan Blatný Ivan