Visitors pay last respects to poetess Věra Jirousová

Visitors paid their last respects to Věra Jirousová on Friday at Prague’s Strašnice crematorium. Ms Jirousová, a poet, art historian, signatory of the Charter 77 human rights charter and an influential member of Czechoslovakia’s underground arts scene, passed away in late February at the age of 67. Visitors at the ceremony on Friday included members of the influential rock band Plastic People of the Universe, with whom Ms Jirousová collaborated, as well as her ex-husband Ivan Jirous, also a poet. Other guests included Ivan Havel, young politician Matěj Stropnický and the Green Party’s Kateřina Jacques. Věra Jirousová was remembered by a former deputy interior minister who spoke at her funeral as someone who had “lived in poetry and images”.

Author: Jan Velinger