Gjekë MARINAJ
Biography Poetry Gjekë MARINAJ Born in the hamlet of Brrut near Rrapsh-Starja in the Malësia e Madhe district of northern Albania in 1965, Gjekë Marinaj studied journalism in Vlora and published his first news article at age sixteen. In his mid-twenties, he published an anti-communist poem called “The Horses” in Drita, a newspaper of the […]
Bardhyl LONDO
Biography Poetry Bardhyl LONDO Bardhyl Londo (b. 1948) from Lipa near Përmet built up a reputation as a leading Albanian poet in the eighties. He studied language and literature at the University of Tirana, taught school for some years in his native district of Përmet and later worked for the literary journal ‘Drita.’ He also […]
Arian LEKA
Biography Poetry Prose Arian LEKA Arian Leka (b. 1966) is a leading contemporary writer from the port city of Durrës. He is editor-in-chief of the well-received poetry periodical Poeteka: revistë e poezisë dhe e kulturës poetike (Poeteka: Review of Poetry and Poetic Culture). Among Leka’s publications are the short story collections Ky vend i qetë ku s’ndodh […]
Teodor LAÇO
Biography Prose Teodor LAÇO Teodor Laço (b. 1936) from the village of Dardha near Korça established his reputation as a major prose writer of the socialist period with his novel Tokë e ashpër, Tirana 1971 (Rough land), which dealt with the collectivization of agriculture in mountain regions. The author was head of the ‘New Albania’ film […]
Fatos KONGOLI
Biography Prose Fatos KONGOLI Fatos Kongoli (b. 1944) has recently become one of the most forceful and convincing representatives of contemporary Albanian prose. He was born and raised in Elbasan and studied mathematics in China during the tense years of the Sino-Albanian alliance. Kongoli chose not to publish any major works during the dictatorship. […]
Ismail KADARE
Biography Poetry Prose Ismail KADARE Ismail Kadare (b. 1936) is at present the only Albanian writer to enjoy a broad international reputation. His talents both as a poet and as a prose writer have lost none of their innovative force over the last three decades. Born and raised in the museum-city of Gjirokastra, Kadare studied […]
Ervin HATIBI
Biography Poetry Ervin HATIBI Ervin Hatibi (b. 1974) was born in Tirana and studied French at the Foreign Language Institute there. He managed to publish a first volume of poetry during the dictatorship, but it was during the 1990s that his unconventional verse became popular, in particular with students in Tirana and elsewhere. Among […]
Faslli HALITI
Biography Poetry Faslli HALITI Faslli Haliti was born in Lushnja in 1935 and worked as a teacher of art and literature there. His first poetry collection, Sot (Today), Tirana 1969, was a great success and was awarded a national prize. Soon thereafter, during the Cultural Revolution, ideological errors were “discovered” in his literary works. He was […]
Ledia DUSHI
Biography Poetry Ledia DUSHI Ledia Dushi was born in 1978 in the northern Albanian town of Shkodra. She studied Albanian language and literature and worked both as a journalist and in municipal government, where she was responsible for culture. Her well-received verse is written primarily in the dialect of Shkodra. It has been published […]
Ridvan DIBRA
Biography Poetry Ridvan DIBRA Ridvan Dibra (b. 1959) was born in Shkodra where he went to school and graduated from the university in Albanian language and literature. He taught Albanian in the mountain town of Kukës from 1982 to 1987 and worked in his native Shkodra from 1988 to 1994 as a journalist. Since […]