Poetry
Melancholické procházky
Ivan Blatný · 1941
Synopsis
Elegies in quatrains of rhymed alexandrines, written in the course of walks in Brno and its surroundings: streets, suburbs, rivers, the plain that opens out beyond the cemetery wall, a bird taking flight. The poet speaks of nostalgia and the sensuality of memories, without a word about the events of the time, and makes his city a place of poetry.
Context
The collection appeared in 1941 from Melantrich. The author wanted to call it Brněnské elegie, “Elegies of Brno”, but the censorship of the occupation refused this title, which could suggest a regret at the German invasion. With this book, he won a national competition. After his departure in 1948, his books disappeared and his name was erased; the collection was reissued on its own only in 1968 and 1990.
Who it is for
Poems in regular, rhymed quatrains. A selection has appeared in English under the title Brno Elegies; no French translation.
Prizes and reception
The collection that secured its author a lasting reputation, and through which Brno became, for the critics, a city of poetry.