Aleksandër Merxhani mostly known as Branko Merxhani (1894–1981) 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 ...

intellectual, sociologist, writer, journalist and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. He was one of the most important cultural figures of the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in Albania, publisher of ''

Përpjekja shqiptare ''Përpjekja shqiptare'' ( en, The Albanian Endeavour), published by Branko Merxhani, and administered by Petro Marko was a literary magazine, published in Tirana, Albania from 1936 to 1939. The magazine was published monthly is said to have ha ...

''. During the '30s he developed an ideological program named ''Neo-Albanianism'' ( sq, Neo-shqiptarisma), which he developed being heavily influenced by Turkish sociologist

Ziya Gökalp Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen name Gökalp ("cel ...

Life

Originating from

Sopik Sopik ( el, Σωπική) is a settlement in Gjirokastër County, southeastern Albania. It is part of the former commune of Pogon. After the 2015 local government reform, it became part of the municipality of Dropull. A secondary border crossi ...

of Pogon

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

, his father was a judge in Nish, where he married with a local and Branko was born there. It is thought that his mother or his governess was German. After the Ottoman authorities relocated his father, he followed the German lyceum in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, studied philosophy in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and followed his studies in Austria. After the triumph of Atatürk, he returned and worked as a journalist in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

's press. Afterwards he returned in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

for property issues in his village of origin. He settled in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...

, where he worked with the ''Demokratia'' magazine published by Jorgji Meksi, and along with Vangjel Koça, it was through its pages that he first presented his ideological program, known as ''Neo-shqiptarisma''. At 1930 he went to Tirana where he started publishing a magazine named after his ideological program, ''Neo-shqiptarisma'', but it lasted for only one issue. He started writing articles for ''Illyria'' magazine run by Karl Gurakuqi; their collaboration went on from March 1934 until 1936. From December 1935 he collaborated with the ''New Time'' ( sq, Koha e Re) along with Suat Asllani,

Petro Marko Petro Marko (November 25, 1913 – December 27, 1991) was an Albanian writer. His best-known novel is titled '' Hasta La Vista'' and recounts his experiences as a volunteer of the Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War. Petro Marko is ...

, Koça and Tajar Zavalani; but after 13 issues the journal stopped being published. In October 1936 he started to publish ''The Albanian Endeavour'' ( sq, Përpjekja shqiptare).

Life

References

Further reading