Czech · 1901–1986
Jaroslav Seifert won the 1984 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man." The Czech poet spent decades as his nation's unofficial laureate, writing verse that celebrated Prague and resisted totalitarianism. "The Plague Column" meditated on his city's history and suffering. Seifert proved that lyric poetry could sustain political resistance.