Ismail Kadare at a reading in Zurich

Ismail Kadare is a world-renowned Albanian writer. He was born on January 28, 1936 in Gjirokastër, Albania. 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. He affirmed himself as a literary talent early on, in the 60's, and his works reflect much of the Albanian literature of Socialist Realism and post-communist Albania. His interests have varied in times. During the era of communism he was the main architect of the socialist realism literature, while at present he is concerned with the Albanian society, the communist regime that he denounced after its fall and old Albanian traditions (kanun). Image File history File links Ismail_Kadare. ... Image File history File links Ismail_Kadare. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gjirokastër, as seen from the Citadel. ... University of Tirana (Universiteti i Tiranës) is located in Tirana, Albania. ... The Maxim Gorky Literary Institute (Russian: ) is a higher education institute in Moscow. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ...

In 1990, just before the fall of communism in Albania, Kadare sought asylum in France, stating that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible... The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship." In 1992 he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca. The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is a major international literary award established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (1912-2004) to continue the work of her late husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca (1899-1967). ...

For the last ten years he has divided his time between France and Albania. While referred to as a dissident author by some, his status as such has been contested by others.

Dissidence

There are different opinions on whether Kadare was a dissident or a conformist during the communist period. In the early days of democracy he was accused of being Enver Hoxha's man. Even today many in Albania accuse him of having been a supporter and main architect of Communism. He was the only writer in Communist Albania whose writing was not prohibited, but was in many cases promoted [1]. In October 2006 he was accussed widely in the Albanian press for the persecution and the exile of one Albanian family, by using his influence with the communist system and Enver Hoxha for a personal vendetta. Kadare has been accussed even by religious and minority groups in Albania for being racist. In early nineties he was accussed as being anti-Vlach by minority organizations, while in 2006 he was accussed by the Kosovar academic Rexhep Qosja and The Muslim Forum of Albania as islamophobic and racist. There is an ongoing debate about the legitimacy and impartiality of Qosja's accusations. Furthermore, there are other Kadare fans who defend him and say that he had to stay on friendly terms with the communists, but was not an active supporter of the past regime. A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively opposes an established opinion, policy, or structure. ... In English history, Conformists were those whose religious practices conformed with the requirements of the Act of Uniformity and so were in concert with the Established Church, the Church of England, as opposed to those of Nonconformists whose practices were not acceptable to the Church of England. ... Enver Hoxha, (IPA , October 16, 1908–April 11, 1985) was the paramount leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Communist Albanian Party of Labour. ... Rexhep Qosja (b. ... This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ...

Against

Some see his poetry and prose as filled with passages serving the Communist Party and praising Enver Hoxha, dictator of Albania, and Dimri i madh [The Great Winter] as a literary monument to Hoxha in person. Undoubtedly Kadare had Hoxha's support, which helped him throughout his career. Kadare was Albania's main showcase writer during the era of communism, sometimes defending the regime and legitimizing it. He was a deputy in the puppet, one-party parliament and the deputy head of the National Front organization of the Party of Labour. Moreover coming from the Palorto disctrict of Gjirokastra from where Enver Hoxha was, and being family friend of the dictator he had every reason to support the regime.

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." He has referred to The Great Winter as "the price he had to pay for freedom".

Recognition

Kadare has 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. Some of his greatest works (some only published in France) include: Nobel Prize medal. ... The Man Booker International Prize is a global literary award that recognises one writer for their achievement in fiction. ...

Books

• The City Without Advertisements (Qyteti Pa Reklama) written in 1959, published in 2001
• My Century (Shekulli Im) 1961
• The General of the Dead Army (Gjenerali i Ushtrisë së Vdekur) 1963
• Why These Mountains Brood (Përse Mendohen Këto Male) 1964
• The Wedding (Dasma) 1968
• The Castle (Kështjella) 1970
• Chronicle in Stone (Kronikë në gur) 1971
• The Great Winter (Dimri i Madh) 1977
• The Three-Arched Bridge (Ura Me Tri Harqe) 1978
• Broken April (Prilli i Thyer) 1980
• Gjakftohtësia 1980
• The File on H (Dosja H) 1981
• Literary Works (Vepra Letrare) 1981-1989
• The Concert at the End of the Winter (Koncert në Fund të Dimrit) 1988
• From one December to another (Nga një dhjetor në tjetrin) 1991
• The Pyramid (Piramida) 1992
• Albanie 1995
• The Palace of Dreams (Pallati i ëndrrave) 1981
• Poèmes 1997
• Froides Fleurs D'Avril (Spring Flower, Spring Frost)2000
• Three Elegies for Kosovo 2000
• The Life, Game and Death of Lul Mazreku (Jeta, loja dhe vdekja e Lul Mazrekut) 2002
• The Successor (Pasardhësi) 2003 (trans. by David Bellos 2005)
• A dialogue with Alain Bosquet (Dialog me Alain Bosquet) 1996
• Spiritus (Spiritus) 1996
• The Angels' Cousin, essays (Kushëriri i engjëjve) 1997
• Barbarian times (From Albania to Kosovo) (Kohë Barbare (Nga Shqipëria në Kosovë)) 1996
• Barbarian times(From Albania to Kosovo) (Kohë Barbare (Nga Shqipëria në Kosovë)) 1996
• Ra ky mort e u pam 2000 - about Kosovo and the Kosovo War written in diary form
• Some rain-drops fell on the glass (Ca pika shiu ranë mbi qelq) 2003 - Selection of poems
• The European identity of Albanians (Identiteti europian i shqiptarëve) 2006

1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... My century (German Mein Jahrhundert) is a book written by Günter Grass. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... The Wedding is a romance novel written by Danielle Steele and published in in April of 2000. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The Three Arched Bridge (1978) is a novel by Ismail Kadare, perhaps the most well-known Albanian writer. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The author, Kadare The File on H (1981) is a novel by Ismail Kadare. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The novel the Pyramid, by Ismail Kadare, is one of the greatest works produced by a dissident writer, rivaling the Garden Party, by Havel. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

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