Classical Albanian Literature

Classical Albanian Literature

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-07-18

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9781515132769

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This reader presents the best of classical Albanian literature, from the end of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century. It includes the best-known works of the age, poetry in particular. After a sluggish start, Albanian literature flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. By the mid-1930s, it reached a zenith, when intellectual life in the country was finally on a sound footing. A modern literature had been created in Albania and the nation had come of age. Alas, it was a brief blossoming in the shadow of the apocalypse which loomed in the form of the Stalinist regime that seized power in 1944 and would snuff out all genuine literary production for decades to come.


Book Synopsis Classical Albanian Literature by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Classical Albanian Literature written by Robert Elsie and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-07-18 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reader presents the best of classical Albanian literature, from the end of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century. It includes the best-known works of the age, poetry in particular. After a sluggish start, Albanian literature flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. By the mid-1930s, it reached a zenith, when intellectual life in the country was finally on a sound footing. A modern literature had been created in Albania and the nation had come of age. Alas, it was a brief blossoming in the shadow of the apocalypse which loomed in the form of the Stalinist regime that seized power in 1944 and would snuff out all genuine literary production for decades to come.

Albanian Literature

Albanian Literature

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: I.B. Tauris

Published: 2005-07-29

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9781845110314

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The tender plant of Albanian literature grew in a rocky soil. It was late to evolve and its development, indeed its very existence, was threatened in many periods. "Albanian Literature: A Short History" tells the story of the survival and growth of Albanian creative writing beginning with the earliest thirteenth century texts of Theodor of Shkodra, tracing the development of the modern literature of Buzuku, Budi and Bogdani, the incorporation of the Muslim influences of Frakulla and Kycyku and continuing with the works of Cajupi and Kadare during the reign of King Zog and the Hoxha administration. A unique book that illuminates an under-researched subject, "Albanian Literature" is an essential reference guide for all those interested in Balkan cultures, in comparative literature and in European cultural history in general.


Book Synopsis Albanian Literature by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Albanian Literature written by Robert Elsie and published by I.B. Tauris. This book was released on 2005-07-29 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tender plant of Albanian literature grew in a rocky soil. It was late to evolve and its development, indeed its very existence, was threatened in many periods. "Albanian Literature: A Short History" tells the story of the survival and growth of Albanian creative writing beginning with the earliest thirteenth century texts of Theodor of Shkodra, tracing the development of the modern literature of Buzuku, Budi and Bogdani, the incorporation of the Muslim influences of Frakulla and Kycyku and continuing with the works of Cajupi and Kadare during the reign of King Zog and the Hoxha administration. A unique book that illuminates an under-researched subject, "Albanian Literature" is an essential reference guide for all those interested in Balkan cultures, in comparative literature and in European cultural history in general.

Albanian Alphabets

Albanian Alphabets

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2017-03-09

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 9781544294094

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The hundred years between 1750 and 1850 were an age of astounding orthographic diversity in Albania. In this period, the Albanian language was put to writing in at least ten different alphabets - most certainly a record for European languages. This book introduces the diverse forms in which this old Balkan language was recorded, from the earliest documents to the beginning of the twentieth century. They consist of adaptations of the Latin, Greek, Arabic and Cyrillic alphabets and, what is even more interesting, a number of locally invented writing systems. Most of the latter alphabets have now been forgotten and are unknown, even to the Albanians themselves.


Book Synopsis Albanian Alphabets by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Albanian Alphabets written by Robert Elsie and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-03-09 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hundred years between 1750 and 1850 were an age of astounding orthographic diversity in Albania. In this period, the Albanian language was put to writing in at least ten different alphabets - most certainly a record for European languages. This book introduces the diverse forms in which this old Balkan language was recorded, from the earliest documents to the beginning of the twentieth century. They consist of adaptations of the Latin, Greek, Arabic and Cyrillic alphabets and, what is even more interesting, a number of locally invented writing systems. Most of the latter alphabets have now been forgotten and are unknown, even to the Albanians themselves.

Albanian Literature

Albanian Literature

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Albanian Literature by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Albanian Literature written by Robert Elsie and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Lightning from the Depths

Lightning from the Depths

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Writings from an Unbound Europ

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13:

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If a people Have no poets And no poetry of their own For a National Anthology Then treachery and barking Will do the trick With these words, a challenge is laid down in this new volume of Albanian poetry. Albania, however, has a dynamic tradition of literature. Lightning from the Depths is the first English collection to present the full range of Albanian verse. Albanian literature has had many lives. The early Christian traditions disappeared as Islam and the Ottoman Empire took over. Muslim literature, too, withered when the nation strove to become an independent European country. The beginnings of a modern tradition were quashed by the Stalinists. All along this rocky path, poets have turned the political strife, poverty, and isolation their nation has often experienced into culture, both celebrating and questioning the society in which they live. Lightning from the Depths opens readers’ eyes to a new political and cultural world populated artists who can spin despair into poetry.


Book Synopsis Lightning from the Depths by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Lightning from the Depths written by Robert Elsie and published by Writings from an Unbound Europ. This book was released on 2008 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If a people Have no poets And no poetry of their own For a National Anthology Then treachery and barking Will do the trick With these words, a challenge is laid down in this new volume of Albanian poetry. Albania, however, has a dynamic tradition of literature. Lightning from the Depths is the first English collection to present the full range of Albanian verse. Albanian literature has had many lives. The early Christian traditions disappeared as Islam and the Ottoman Empire took over. Muslim literature, too, withered when the nation strove to become an independent European country. The beginnings of a modern tradition were quashed by the Stalinists. All along this rocky path, poets have turned the political strife, poverty, and isolation their nation has often experienced into culture, both celebrating and questioning the society in which they live. Lightning from the Depths opens readers’ eyes to a new political and cultural world populated artists who can spin despair into poetry.

The Doll

The Doll

Author: Ismail Kadare

Publisher: Catapult

Published: 2020-11-17

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1640094237

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In this autobiographical novel, Albania’s most renowned novelist and poet Ismail Kadare explores his relationship with his mother in a delicately wrought tale of home, family, creative aspirations, and personal and political freedom. “Houses like ours seemed constructed with the specific purpose of preserving coldness and misunderstanding for as long as possible.” In his father’s great stone house with hidden rooms and even a dungeon, Ismail grows up with his mother at the center of his universe. Fragile as a paper doll, she finds herself at odds with her tight–lipped and wise mother–in–law who, as is the custom for women of a certain age, will never again step foot over the threshold to leave her home. Young Ismail finds it difficult to understand his mother’s tears, though he can understand her boredom. She told him the reason herself in a phrase that terrified and obsessed the boy: “The house is eating me up!” As Ismail explores his world, his mother becomes fearful of her intellectual son—he uses words she does not understand, writes radical poetry, falls in love far too easily, and seems to renounce everything she believes in. He will, she fears, have to exchange her for some other superior mother when he becomes a famous writer. The Doll is a delicate and disarming autobiographical novel, an exploration of Kadare’s creative aspirations and their tangled connections to his childhood home and his mother’s tenuous place within it.


Book Synopsis The Doll by : Ismail Kadare

Download or read book The Doll written by Ismail Kadare and published by Catapult. This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this autobiographical novel, Albania’s most renowned novelist and poet Ismail Kadare explores his relationship with his mother in a delicately wrought tale of home, family, creative aspirations, and personal and political freedom. “Houses like ours seemed constructed with the specific purpose of preserving coldness and misunderstanding for as long as possible.” In his father’s great stone house with hidden rooms and even a dungeon, Ismail grows up with his mother at the center of his universe. Fragile as a paper doll, she finds herself at odds with her tight–lipped and wise mother–in–law who, as is the custom for women of a certain age, will never again step foot over the threshold to leave her home. Young Ismail finds it difficult to understand his mother’s tears, though he can understand her boredom. She told him the reason herself in a phrase that terrified and obsessed the boy: “The house is eating me up!” As Ismail explores his world, his mother becomes fearful of her intellectual son—he uses words she does not understand, writes radical poetry, falls in love far too easily, and seems to renounce everything she believes in. He will, she fears, have to exchange her for some other superior mother when he becomes a famous writer. The Doll is a delicate and disarming autobiographical novel, an exploration of Kadare’s creative aspirations and their tangled connections to his childhood home and his mother’s tenuous place within it.

Songs of the Frontier Warriors

Songs of the Frontier Warriors

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0865164126

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The Epics of Gilgamesh, Homer, Vergil, Shahnameh, are sources of our knowledge of religious beliefs. This epic is a welcome introduction to the spiritual world of the Albanians as they fought the crusades. The "Songs of the Frontier Warrior is the first English-language translation ever made of Albanian epic verse. As the product of a little-known culture and a difficult, rarely studied language, the Albanian epic has tended to remain in the shadow of the Serbo-Croatian, or more properly, Bosnian epic, with which it has undeniable affinities. This translation may thus be regarded as an initial attempt to rectify the imbalance and to give scholars and the reading public in general an opportunity to delve into the exotic world of the northern Albanian tribes. The present bilingual edition offers a broad selection of the best known songs. Also included are an introduction, a glossaries of terms and sources, and a selective bibliography.


Book Synopsis Songs of the Frontier Warriors by : Robert Elsie

Download or read book Songs of the Frontier Warriors written by Robert Elsie and published by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. This book was released on 2004 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Epics of Gilgamesh, Homer, Vergil, Shahnameh, are sources of our knowledge of religious beliefs. This epic is a welcome introduction to the spiritual world of the Albanians as they fought the crusades. The "Songs of the Frontier Warrior is the first English-language translation ever made of Albanian epic verse. As the product of a little-known culture and a difficult, rarely studied language, the Albanian epic has tended to remain in the shadow of the Serbo-Croatian, or more properly, Bosnian epic, with which it has undeniable affinities. This translation may thus be regarded as an initial attempt to rectify the imbalance and to give scholars and the reading public in general an opportunity to delve into the exotic world of the northern Albanian tribes. The present bilingual edition offers a broad selection of the best known songs. Also included are an introduction, a glossaries of terms and sources, and a selective bibliography.

Albanian Identities

Albanian Identities

Author: Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780253341891

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The contributors to this study critically de-construct Albanian myths and offer insights into Albanian history and politics. They conclude with contemporary Albanian critiques of the origins and functions of Albanian politics and ideologies.


Book Synopsis Albanian Identities by : Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers

Download or read book Albanian Identities written by Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors to this study critically de-construct Albanian myths and offer insights into Albanian history and politics. They conclude with contemporary Albanian critiques of the origins and functions of Albanian politics and ideologies.

Modern Albania

Modern Albania

Author: Fred Abrahams

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 1479896683

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In the early 1990s, Albania, arguably Europe’s most closed and repressive state, began a startling transition out of forty years of self-imposed Communist isolation. Albanians who were not allowed to practice religion, travel abroad, wear jeans, or read “decadent” Western literature began to devour the outside world. They opened cafés, companies, and newspapers. Previously banned rock music blared in the streets. Modern Albania offers a vivid history of the Albanian Communist regime’s fall and the trials and tribulations that led the country to become the state it is today. The book provides an in-depth look at the Communists' last Politburo meetings and the first student revolts, the fall of the Stalinist regime, the outflows of refugees, the crash of the massive pyramid-loan schemes, the war in neighboring Kosovo, and Albania’s relationship with the United States. Fred Abrahams weaves together personal experience from more than twenty years of work in Albania, interviews with key Albanians and foreigners who played a role in the country’s politics since 1990—including former Politburo members, opposition leaders, intelligence agents, diplomats, and founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army—and a close examination of hundreds of previously secret government records from Albania and the United States. A rich, narratively-driven account, Modern Albania gives readers a front-row seat to the dramatic events of the last battle of Cold War Europe.


Book Synopsis Modern Albania by : Fred Abrahams

Download or read book Modern Albania written by Fred Abrahams and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2018-10-16 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1990s, Albania, arguably Europe’s most closed and repressive state, began a startling transition out of forty years of self-imposed Communist isolation. Albanians who were not allowed to practice religion, travel abroad, wear jeans, or read “decadent” Western literature began to devour the outside world. They opened cafés, companies, and newspapers. Previously banned rock music blared in the streets. Modern Albania offers a vivid history of the Albanian Communist regime’s fall and the trials and tribulations that led the country to become the state it is today. The book provides an in-depth look at the Communists' last Politburo meetings and the first student revolts, the fall of the Stalinist regime, the outflows of refugees, the crash of the massive pyramid-loan schemes, the war in neighboring Kosovo, and Albania’s relationship with the United States. Fred Abrahams weaves together personal experience from more than twenty years of work in Albania, interviews with key Albanians and foreigners who played a role in the country’s politics since 1990—including former Politburo members, opposition leaders, intelligence agents, diplomats, and founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army—and a close examination of hundreds of previously secret government records from Albania and the United States. A rich, narratively-driven account, Modern Albania gives readers a front-row seat to the dramatic events of the last battle of Cold War Europe.

The Art of Fiction

The Art of Fiction

Author: David Lodge

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-04-30

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1448137799

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In this entertaining and enlightening collection David Lodge considers the art of fiction under a wide range of headings, drawing on writers as diverse as Henry James, Martin Amis, Jane Austen and James Joyce. Looking at ideas such as the Intrusive Author, Suspense, the Epistolary Novel, Magic Realism and Symbolism, and illustrating each topic with a passage taken from a classic or modern novel, David Lodge makes the richness and variety of British and American fiction accessible to the general reader. He provides essential reading for students, aspiring writers and anyone who wants to understand how fiction works.


Book Synopsis The Art of Fiction by : David Lodge

Download or read book The Art of Fiction written by David Lodge and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this entertaining and enlightening collection David Lodge considers the art of fiction under a wide range of headings, drawing on writers as diverse as Henry James, Martin Amis, Jane Austen and James Joyce. Looking at ideas such as the Intrusive Author, Suspense, the Epistolary Novel, Magic Realism and Symbolism, and illustrating each topic with a passage taken from a classic or modern novel, David Lodge makes the richness and variety of British and American fiction accessible to the general reader. He provides essential reading for students, aspiring writers and anyone who wants to understand how fiction works.