Top prize at Magnesia litera awards goes to Básník (Poet) by Martin Reiner

The top Book of the Year prize at the prestigious Magnesia litera Czech literary awards has gone to Básník (Poet), subtitled A Novel about Ivan Blatný, by Martin Reiner. Almost 600 pages long, the book explores the life and work of Blatný, a leading Czech poet who went into exile in the UK and spent his later years in mental institutions. At Tuesday night’s awards ceremony in Prague the closely watched Prose prize went to Petr Stančík for Mlýn na mumie (Mill for Mummies).