Ismail Kadare

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

Ismail Kadare (born January 28, 1936) is a world-renowned Albanian writer. In 1992, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; in 2005, he won the inaugural Booker International Prize. He has divided his time between France and Albania since 1990.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Dissidence 2.1 Arguments for 3 Recognition 4 Literary works 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Biography

Ismail Kadare was born in Gjirokastër, Albania in 1936. He first studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at the University of Tirana and later at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. In the 1960s, his works reflected the Albanian literature of Socialist Realism and post-communist Albania.

In 1990, immediately before the fall of communism in Albania, Kadare sought asylum in France. During the ordeal, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible... The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship."

[edit] Dissidence

Opinions differ on whether Kadare was a dissident or a conformist during the communist period. On several occasions, Kadare has denied that he was a dissident. For instance, in an interview in November 2006 on Albanian "TV Klan", Kadare answered as follows:

Question from Blendi Fevziu: Mister Kadare, have you ever tried to present yourself as dissident, even through others?

Ismail Kadare answering: Absolutely not. Others have said this, and I could not do anything when foreign journalists wrote "The dissident author Ismail Kadare...".

[edit] Arguments for

• Others believe that some of his works, such as The Palace of Dreams, make strong parallels showing the evil of the communist regime.
• In a political and literary environment completely and fiercely controlled by the state, Kadare's writing was for many the only window to anything approaching reality, let alone resistance.
• Having been sentenced to temporary exile, he was forced to produce some works praising the regime and paying lip-service to its "achievements."
• Yet, in other works, Kadare purported to show that Albania's greatness extended beyond the Communist regime and that life could be beautiful without the (failing) Communist ideal.
• Kadare himself has been quoted as saying that he never claimed to be a dissident, that "dissidence was a position no one could occupy, even for a few days, without facing the firing squad. On the other hand, my books themselves constitute a very obvious form of resistance."^[1]
• He has referred to The Great Winter as "the price he had to pay for freedom".

[edit] Recognition

Kadare's works have been published in over forty countries. He has been a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature and in 2005 he received the inaugural Man Booker International Prize.

[edit] Literary works

1. Qyteti Pa Reklama ("The City Without Advertisements", written in 1959, published in 2001)
2. Shekulli Im ("My Century", 1961)
3. Gjenerali i Ushtrisë së Vdekur ("The General of the Dead Army", 1963)
4. Përse Mendohen Këto Male ("Why These Mountains Brood", 1964)
5. Dasma ("The Wedding", 1968)
6. Kështjella ("The Castle", 1970)
7. Kronikë në gur ("Chronicle in Stone", 1971)
8. Dimri i Madh ("The Great Winter", 1977)
9. Ura Me Tri Harqe (The Three-Arched Bridge, 1978)
10. Prilli i Thyer ("Broken April", 1980)
11. Gjakftohtësia (1980)
12. The File on H. (Dosja H, 1981)
13. Literary Works (Vepra Letrare, 1981-1989)
14. The Concert at the End of the Winter (Koncert në Fund të Dimrit, 1988)
15. Përbindëshi (The Monster, 1991)
16. From one December to another (Nga një dhjetor në tjetrin, 1991)
17. The Pyramid (Piramida, 1992)
18. Albanie (1995)
19. The Palace of Dreams (Pallati i ëndrrave, 1981)
20. Poèmes (1997)
21. Froides Fleurs D'Avril (Spring Flower, Spring Frost, 2000)
22. Three Elegies for Kosovo (2000)
23. The Life, Game and Death of Lul Mazreku (Jeta, loja dhe vdekja e Lul Mazrekut, 2002)
24. The Successor (Pasardhësi, 2003)
25. A dialogue with Alain Bosquet (Dialog me Alain Bosquet, 1996)
26. Spiritus (Spiritus, 1996)
27. The Angels' Cousin, essays (Kushëriri i engjëjve, 1997)
28. Barbarian times(From Albania to Kosovo) (Kohë Barbare (Nga Shqipëria në Kosovë), 1996)
29. Ra ky mort e u pam (2000)
30. Some rain-drops fell on the glass (Ca pika shiu ranë mbi qelq, 2003 - Selection of poems)
31. The European identity of Albanians (Identiteti european i shqiptarëve, 2006)
32. "Eskili, ky humbes i madh"
33. "Agamemnon's Daughter" and "The Heir" (2007)

[edit] See also

• Albanian literature
• Albanian culture

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Winning the first Man Booker International Prize, as reported by the BBC.
• Ismail Kadare -- Photos by Mathieu Bourgois.
• Ismail Kadare, Novelist From The 'Balkan Fringe,' Receives Top Literary Award - Kadare's interview to RFE/RL
• Biography at bbc.co.uk.
• New Yorker article by Ismail Kadare
• Interview (09/1998)