Ivan Martin Jirous
| Ivan Martin Jirous | |
|---|---|
 Ivan Martin Jirous, Ostrava, December 11, 2007 | |
| Born |
23 September 1944 Humpolec, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia |
| Died |
10 November 2011 (aged 67) Prague, Czech Republic |
| Occupation | poet |
| Nationality | Czech Republic |
| Genres | Poetry |
Ivan Martin Jirous (September 23, 1944[1] – November 10, 2011[2]) was a Czech poet, best known for being the artistic director of the Czech psychedelic rock group The Plastic People of the Universe and later one of the organizers of the Czech underground during the communist regime. He is also known more frequently as Magor, which can be roughly translated as "loony" or "fool" and is supposedly derived from "phantasmagoria". This nickname was given to him by the "experimental" poet Eugen Brikcius.[1] His wife, Věra Jirousová, wrote a good deal of the Plastics' early lyrics.
Trained as an art historian but unable to work as such under the Communist regime in then Czechoslovakia, Magor/Jirous was a member of the dissident subculture there. His particular contribution to Czech dissidence was his work on the concept of the "Parallel Polis," or "Second Culture." Magor believed that simply expressing oneself through art could ultimately undermine the totalitarian system.
He was friends with Václav Havel, and is mentioned several times in Havel's Letters to Olga.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Doležal, Miloš (2009-09-23). "Miloš Doležal: Ježatý Magor z Humpolce". Hospodářské noviny. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ "Zemřel básník Ivan Martin Jirous. Legenda českého undergroundu". www.lidovky.cz. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
External links
- The Official Website of the Plastics -- Czech and English
- Ivan Martin 'Magor' Jirous awarded 2006 Jaroslav Seifert Prize (Czech Radio)
- Osobnost českého undergroundu, Magor Jirous slaví 65 let (lidové noviny) (Czech)
- Documentary about Jirous (Czech)
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