"Poetry was one of the first of our literary genres to be brought to life. It became a vital factor in our cultural and political awakening. And already at that early stage, attempts to create a Czech tradition of belles-lettres were received with vast gratitude by the people. The Czech people, who had lost their political representation and had been deprived of their political spokesmen, now sought a substitute for that representation, and they chose it from among the spiritual forces that still remained. From that comes the relatively great importance of poetry in our cultural life." – Jaroslav Seifert who received the Nobel Prize in Literature 40 years ago.
Seifert was one of the pioneers of modernist poetry and literature in his native country of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) where he was much read and loved. He represented freedom, zest and creativity.
Melody and rhythm characterise his poetry, which is inspired by folk songs, common speech and everyday scenes. Although a social and political commitment was a feature of his work, he never became a writer with a party-political agenda, placing humanity, empathy and solidarity at the heart of his poems.
He criticises the totalitarian state’s attempts to reduce the opportunities and freedom of the individual, having become involved in attempts at reforms in Czechoslovakia, such as the Prague Spring of 1968.
Learn more about the poet and journalist: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1984/seifert/facts/
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