Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare
Born	(1936-01-28) 28 January 1936 Gjirokastër, Kingdom of Albania (today Albania)
Occupation	Novelist, poet
Nationality	Albanian
Period	1954–present
Notable works	The General of the Dead Army 1963 The Castle 1970 Chronicle in Stone 1971 Broken April 1978 The Three-Arched Bridge 1978 The Palace of Dreams 1981 The Concert 1988 The File on H 1990 The Pyramid 1992
Notable awards	Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 1992 Man Booker International Prize 2005 Prince of Asturias Awards 2009 Jerusalem Prize 2015

Ismail Kadare (Albanian: [ismaˈil kadaˈɾe], also spelled Kadaré; born 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist and poet. He has been a leading literary figure in Albania since the 1960s. He focused on short stories until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army. In 1996 he became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of France. In 1992, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; in 2005, he won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize, in 2009 the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts, and in 2015 the Jerusalem Prize. He has divided his time between Albania and France since 1990. Kadare has been mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. His works have been published in about 30 languages.

Biography

Ismail Kadare was born on 28 January 1936 in Gjirokastër in the Kingdom of Albania, to Muslim parents. His father, Halit, worked in the civil service. He attended primary and secondary schools in Gjirokastër and studied languages and literature at the Faculty of History and Philology of the University of Tirana. In 1956 Kadare received a teacher's diploma. He later studied at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow.

Kadare served as a member of the Albanian parliament during Communist rule from 1970 until 1982 and was permitted to travel and publish abroad.

After offending the authorities with a politically satirical poem in 1975, he was forbidden to publish for three years. In 1982 Kadare was accused by the president of the League of Albanian Writers and Artists of deliberately evading politics by cloaking much of his fiction in history and folklore.

In 1990, Kadare claimed political asylum in France, issuing statements in favour of democratisation. At that time, he stated that "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship".

Critical opinion is divided as to whether Kadare should be considered to have been a dissident or a conformist during the Communist period. For his part, Kadare has stated that he had never claimed to be an "Albanian Solzhenitsyn" or a dissident, and that "dissidence was a position no one could occupy [in Enver Hoxha's Albania], even for a few days, without facing the firing squad. On the other hand, my books themselves constitute a very obvious form of resistance". Referring to The Great Winter (1977), a novel in which he portrayed Enver Hoxha in a flattering light, Kadare said the book was "the price he had to pay for his freedom".

Personal life

He is married to an Albanian author, Helena Kadare (née Gushi), and has two daughters.

Literary themes

Kadare's novels draw on legends surrounding the historical experiences of Albanian people, the representation of classical myths in modern contexts, and the totalitarian regime in Albania. They are obliquely ironic as a result of trying to withstand political scrutiny. Among his best-known books are The General of the Dead Army (1963), Chronicle in Stone' (1971), Broken April (1980), The Palace of Dreams (1981) and The Concert (1988), considered the best novel of the year 1991 by the French literary magazine Lire.

The Pyramid (1992), was set in Egypt in the 26th century B.C. and after. In it, Kadare mocked Hoxha's fondness for elaborate statues, the pyramid form also reflecting any dictator's love for hierarchy. The Accident (2010) was a multi-layered novel about two lovers, whose deaths launch an investigation not only of their relationship, but also of Balkan politics.

Recognition

Kadare's works have been published in over 40 countries and translated into over 30 languages. In English, his works have been translated by David Bellos.

In 1996 Kadare became a lifetime member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of France, where he replaced the philosopher Karl Popper. In 1992, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca, and in 2005 he received the inaugural Man Booker International Prize. In 2009, Kadare was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. In the same year he was awarded an Honorary Degree of Science in Social and Institutional Communication by the University of Palermo in Sicily. In 2015, he was awarded the bi-annual Jerusalem Prize.

The London newspaper The Independent said of Kadare: "He has been compared to Gogol, Kafka and Orwell. But Kadare's is an original voice, universal yet deeply rooted in his own soil".

Works

Kadare's original Albanian language works have been published exclusively by Onufri Publishing House since 1996, as single works or entire sets. The following Kadare novels have been translated into English:

English translations

• The General of the Dead Army, (Albanian: Gjenerali i ushtrisë së vdekur)
• The Siege, (Albanian: Kështjella)
• Chronicle in Stone, (Albanian: Kronikë në gur)
• Broken April , (Albanian: Prilli i thyer)
• The Three-Arched Bridge , (Albanian: Ura me tri harqe)
• The Palace of Dreams, (Albanian: Nëpunësi i pallatit të ëndrrave)
• The Concert, (Albanian: Koncert në fund të dimrit)
• The File on H (1990) (Albanian: Dosja H: roman)
• The Pyramid, or La Pyramide (1992), (Albanian: Piramida)
• Three Elegies for Kosovo, (Albanian: Tri këngë zie për Kosovën)
• Spring Flowers, Spring Frost , (Albanian: Lulet e ftohta të marsit)
• The Successor, (Albanian: Pasardhësi)
• Agamemnon's Daughter, (Albanian: Vajza e Agamemnonit)
• The Fall of the Stone City, (Albanian: Darka e Gabuar)
• The Accident (Albanian: Aksidenti)
• The Ghost Rider
• Twilight of the eastern gods (Albanian: Muzgu i perëndive të stepës)

Works published in Albanian

The complete works (except for the essays) of Ismail Kadare were published by Fayard, simultaneously in French and Albanian, between 1993 and 2004. Omitted from the list are the poetry and the short stories.

In 2009, Kadare's complete works in 20 volumes were published in Albanian by Onufri

The dates of publication given here are those of the first publication in Albanian, unless stated otherwise.

Novels and novellas

• Gjenerali i ushtrisë së vdekur (The General of the Dead Army) (1963)
• Përbindëshi (The Monster) (1965)
• Lëkura e daulles (The Wedding) (1968)
• Kështjella (The Siege)(1970)
• Kronikë në gur (Chronicle in Stone)(1971)
• Dimiri i vetmisë së madhe (The Great Winter) (1972)
• Nëntori i një kryeqyteti (November of a Capital)(1975)
• Muzgu i perëndive të stepës (Twilight of the Eastern Gods)( (1978)
• Komisioni i festës (The Feast Commission) (1978)
• Ura me tri harqe (The Three-arched Bridge)(1978)
• Kamarja e turpit (The Niche of Shame) (1978)
• Prilli i thyer (Broken April) (1980)
• Kush e solli Doruntinën? (The Ghost Rider)(1980)
• Pallati i ëndërrave (The Palace of Dreams) (1981)
• Nata me hënë (Moonlight) (1985)
• Viti i mbrapshtë (The Dark Year) (1985)
• Krushqit janë të ngrirë (The Wedding Procession Turned to Ice)(1985)
• Koncert në fund të dimrit (The Concert) (1988)
• Dosja H. (The File on H.)(1989)
• Qorrfermani (The Blinding Order)(1991)
• Piramida (The Pyramid) (1992)
• Hija (The Shadow) (1994)
• Shkaba (The Eagle) (1995)
• Spiritus (1996)
• Qyteti pa reklama (The City with no Advertisements)(1998, written in 1959)
• Lulet e ftohta të marsit (Spring Flowers, Spring Frost) (2000)
• Breznitë e Hankonatëve (2000)
• Vajza e Agamemnonit (Agamemnon's Daughter)(2003)
• Pasardhësi (The Successor) (2003)
• Jeta,loja dhe vdekja Lul Mazrekut (Life, Play and Death of Lul Mazrek) (2003)
• Çështje të marrëzisë (A Question of Lunacy)(2005)
• Darka e Gabuar (The Fall of the Stone City) (2008)
• E penguara: Rekuiem për Linda B. (2009)
• Aksidenti (The Accident) (2010, published in French in 2008)
• Mjegullat e Tiranës (Tirana's Mists) (2014, originally written in 1957-58)
• Kukulla (The Doll) (2015)
• Mëngjeset në kafe Rostand

Essays

• Autobiografia e popullit në vargje (1971)
• Eskili, ky humbës i madh (1990)
• Kushëriri i engjëjve (1997)
• Kombi shqiptar në prag të mijëvjeçarit të tretë (1998)
• Poshtërimi në Ballkan (2004)
• Dantja i pashmangshëm (2006)
• Identiteti evropian i shqiptarëve (2006)
• Hamlet, le prince impossible (2007)
• Mosmarrëveshja, mbi raportet e Shqipërisë me vetveten (2010)
• Mbi krimin në Ballkan; Letërkëmbim i zymtë (2011)
• Çlirimi i Serbisë prej Kosovës (2012)

Story collections

• Emblema e dikurshme (1977)
• Gjakftohtësia (1980)
• Ëndërr mashtruese (1991)
• Tri këngë zie për Kosovën (1998)
• Vjedhja e gjumit mbretëror (1999)
• Përballë pasqyrës së një gruaje (2001)
• Bisedë për brilantet në pasditen e dhjetorit (2013)

Plays

• Stinë e mërzitshme në Olimp (1998)

See also

• Albanian literature

Further reading

• Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë (2008) (in Albanian), Fjalor Enciklopedik Shqiptar 2 (Albanian encyclopedia), Tirana, ISBN 978-99956-10-28-9
• Elsie, Robert, Historical Dictionary of Albania, New Edition, 2004, ISBN 0-8108-4872-4
• Gould, Rebecca. "Allegory and the Critique of Sovereignty: Ismail Kadare’s Political Theologies", Studies in the Novel vol. 44, no. 2 (Summer 2012): 208–230.
• Hysa, Shefki, "The Diplomacy of self-denial" (Diplomacia e vetëmohimit), publicistic, Tirana, 2008. ISBN 978-99956-650-3-6
• Kadare, Helena. Kohë e pamjaftueshme, Tirana: Onufri, 2011. ISBN 9789995687519 (also available in French)
• Morgan, Peter (2011) "Ismail Kadare's Inner Emigration", in Sara Jones & Meesha Nehru (Eds.), Writing under Socialism, (pp. 131–142). Nottingham, UK: Critical, Cultural and Communications (CCC) Press.
• Morgan, Peter (2011) "Greek Civilisation as a Theme of Dissidence in the Work of Ismail Kadare", Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand), 15, 16–32.
• Morgan, Peter (2010) Ismail Kadare: The Writer and the Dictatorship 1957–1990, Oxford: Legenda, 2010, Albanian translation 2011.
• Morgan, Peter (2010) Kadare post Communism: Albania, the Balkans and Europe in the Work of Ismail Kadare, 1990–2008, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
• Morgan, Peter (2005) "Ismail Kadare: Creativity under Communism", The Australian Newspaper.
• Rranzi, Paulin. "Personalities – Missionaries of Peace" publicistic, (2011), Tirana, ISBN 978-99956-43-60-7

External links

• Vepra e plote e Kadarese
• Petri Liukkonen. "Ismail Kadare". Books and Writers.
• National Library of Albania
• Shusha Guppy (Summer 1998). "Ismail Kadare, The Art of Fiction No. 153". The Paris Review.
• In the Palace of Nightmares’: An Exchange - New York Review of Books