Aleksandër Stavre Drenova (; 11 April 187211 December 1947), commonly known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Asdreni, was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

poet, rilindas, translator, writer and the author of the poem which later became the national anthem of Albania. He is regarded as one of the most influential

Albanian writers Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

of the 20th century and composed most of his Albanian Renaissance-inspired known works during that period. Born in the village of

Drenovë Drenovë ( rup, Ndãrnova; Bulgarian and mk, Дреново) is a village in the former Drenovë Municipality of the Korçë County in southeastern Albania. After the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Korçë. Hist ...

, Asdreni completed his academic studies at the University of Bucharest in Romania where he enthusiastically committed himself to the Independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. He maintained close liaison with fellow

Gjergj Fishta Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, politician, rilindas, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century due to his epic ...

and Lasgush Poradeci and was notably inspired by the patriots Girolamo de Rada and

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, rilindas and translator who was proclaimed as the national poet of Albania. He is regarded as the pioneer of modern ...

. ''Rreze dielli'', a collection of 99 poems, was his first prominent work which he dedicated to the national hero of Albania Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Devoted to Edith Durham a friend of Albania, his second collection of again 99 poems, ''Ëndrra e lotë'', displayed a wider range of themes and motifs as well as his more astonishing maturity. On the 30th of June 2021 the new 10000 Lekë banknote was issued by the Bank of Albania with the main portrait being that of Asdreni.

Biography

Life and career

Asdreni was born as Aleksandër Stavre Drenova on 11 April 1872 into an

peasant family of Eastern Orthodox faith in the village of

close to the city of Korçë in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire and is now Albania. In his native village he properly received his early formal education at a Greek primary school and had just started secondary school in Korçë subsequently his father, Stavri Thimiu, died leaving him fatherless. The surrounding region Korçë had been a prime source of Albanian migration which was additionally strengthened by an earthquake in 1879. He consequently migrated to Bucharest in 1885 and rejoined his more elderly brothers where he also commenced his short-living studies at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Bucharest. In the new country, Asdreni came into liaison with other

intellectuals and writers with whom he started to strengthen the Albanian diaspora in Romania for the struggle of national liberation. Prior to that, he was strongly inspired by Girolamo de Rada and

as well as by the Albanian Renaissance in which the Albanians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves.

Literature

Writings and publication

Lasgush Poradeci, Ernest Koliqi, At Gjergj Fishta and Asdreni

The literary career of Asdreni blossomed simultaneously with the beginning of the 20th century. In his first work, a collection of 99 poems known as the ''Rreze dielli'' dedicated to the Albanian

national hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

Skanderbeg who led a successful

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

to Ottoman expansion into Europe, he followed the literary traditions of

and raised his love for the motherland encouraging his compatriots to enter the struggle for

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

from the Ottoman Empire. ''Ëndrra e lotë'', his second work also composed of 99 poems dedicated to Edith Durham who travelled extensively across Albania, is characterised by a wealth of poetic values. He instantly expressed his democratic values, his interests in societal problems at the time as well as his critical discourses on foreign domination. It was an important step from Romanticism towards

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

which was characterised by the historical time frame and reference, and writing about events and situations that happened in real life. His poem "Kënga e bashkimit" (The Song of Unity), published in the volume Ëndrra h lotë ("Dreams and tears", 1912), is a clear adaptation of the Romanian song "

Hora Unirii "Hora Unirii" () is a poem by Vasile Alecsandri, published in 1856. The music of the song was composed by . The song is sung and danced especially on January 24, the anniversary of the day in which the Romanian United Principalities were formally ...

" by Vasile Alecsandri. Robert Elsie, Albanian literature: a short history, 2005, p. 104.

References

External links