Ismail Kadare

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Ismail Kadare at a reading in Zurich

Ismail Kadare (born January 28, 1936 in Gjirokastër, Albania) is a well known Albanian writer. He has studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at the University of Tirana and at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. There are different opinions on whether Kadare was a dissident during the communist period. Some people believe that he fought against the communist regime with his books by making obscure parallels so as to show the impracticality and evil of Communism. Strong opinions, however, are opposed to the idea that Kadare was a dissident. These are based on the fact that Kadare was helped during his career by the leader of the communist state of Albania, Enver Hoxha himself. He supported Kadare because they were born in the same city, and Hoxha personally liked his work. Kadare studied in Moscow in the 50's at a time communist oppression in the entire Eastern block. To get this scholarship, a thorough background investigation of him and his entire family was required. No normal citizen could pass this test, and certainly not one with dissident tendencies. Kadare moved to France in October 1990, just before the collapse of the regime. He was able to go and stay in France because of his status of intellectual, and won acclaim and honours by using his "dissident" status. In 1999 (after the Communist regime), Kadare returned to Albania. He has received many literature awards, is a member of the French Association of Writers, and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize. In 2005 he won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize. Some of his greatest works (some published in France) include:

Books

• 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
• The Pyramid (Piramida) 1992
• Albanie 1995
• The Palace of dreams (Pallati i ëndrrave) 1996
• Poèmes 1997
• Froides Fleurs D'Avril (Spring Flower, Spring Frost)2000
• Elegy for Kosovo 2000
• The life, game and death of Lul Mazreku (Jeta, loja dhe vdekja e Lul Mazrekut) 2002

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.