Ernest Koliqi (20 May 190315 January 1975) 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 ...

journalist, politician, translator, teacher and writer.Encyclopædia Britannica
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Biography

Born in Shkodra, where he also attended his first lessons at the local

Jesuit College The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...

. In 1918 his father send him to study in the jesuit directed "Cesare Arici" college, in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

; and afterwards in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

. Then at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

, and became knowledgeable in Albanian folk history. He began to write under pseudonyms, such as Hilushi, Hilush Vilza and Borizani. In the 1920s and 1930s Koliqi was the founder of leading magazines in Albania, such as the ''Illyria'' magazine, and others, which covered geography and culture in the country. He also was Minister of Education at the time of the Albanian Kingdom during

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 ...

, when he sent two hundred teachers to establish Albanian schools in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. As a writer many of his literary works were banned even though he had political connections, which is partly why they were banned for this very reason because of his political views. He became creative in prose, and together with

Mitrush Kuteli Dhimitër Pasko ( ro, Dimitrie Pascu; 13 September 1907 – 4 May 1967) was a well-known Albanian writer, literary critic and translator. Along with Ernest Koliqi he is considered as the founder of modern Albanian prose; in Albanian literature his ...

is considered the founder of modern Albanian prose. He translated into Albanian the works of the great Italian poets:

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

Giuseppe Parini Giuseppe Parini (23 May 1729 – 15 August 1799) was an Italian enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassic period. Biography Parini (originally spelled Parino) was born in Bosisio (later renamed Bosisio Parini in his honour) in Brianza ...

Vincenzo Monti Vincenzo Monti (19 February 1754 – 13 October 1828) was an Italian poet, playwright, translator, and scholar, the greatest interpreter of Italian neoclassicism in all of its various phases. His verse translation of the ''Iliad'' is considered ...

, and

Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...

. He distinguished himself in the translation of an anthology of Italian poetry in 1963. In his books such as ''Hija e Maleve'' ( en, The Shadow of the Mountains), 1929, ''Tregtar flamujsh'' ( en, Flags' Merchant), 1935, and ''Pasqyrat e Narçizit'' ( en, The Mirrors of Narcissus), 1936, Koliqi brings a unique spirituality to Albanian literature. He died in Rome in 1975.

Works

Literary works

*''Skanderbeg's Call'' ( sq, Kushtrimi i Skanderbeut), (1924)Gjovalin Shkurtaj; Enver Hysa: ''Gjuha Shqipe për të huajt dhe shqiptarët jashtë atdheut'' *''The Shadow of the Mountains'' ( sq, Hija e maleve) (1929) *''The Traces of the Seasons'' ( sq, Gjurmat e stinëve) (1933) *''Flags' Merchant'' ( sq, Tregtar flamujsh) (1935) *''The Mirrors of Narcissus'' ( sq, Pasqyrat e Narçizit) (1936) *''Symphony of the Eagles'' ( sq, Symfonia e shqypeve) (1936) *''The Albanian Popular Epic'' ( sq, Epika popullore shqiptare), PhD thesis at the University of Rome.(1937) *''The Fences of the Awakening'' ( sq, Kangjelet e Rilindjes) (1959) *''The Taste of the Leavened Bread'' ( sq, Shija e bukës mbrume) (1960) *''Albania'' (1965)

Translations

*''The Great Poets of Italy'' ( sq, Poetët e mëdhenj të Italisë) in two volumes, 1932 & 1935; *''The Mountain Lute'' ( sq, Lahuta e Malcís) parts of it in Italian.

Other legacy

* Founder and director of ''Shkëndija'' magazine, ( en, The Spark); * Founder and publisher of ''Shêjzat'' ( en, The Pleiades), Rome, 1957-1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koliqi, Ernest 1903 births 1975 deaths Albanian Roman Catholics Albanian translators 20th-century translators Albanian–Italian translators Italian–Albanian translators Albanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Albanian poets Albanian-language poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Albanian publishers (people) Government ministers of Albania Education ministers of Albania Speakers of the Parliament of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Albanian collaborators with Fascist Italy Albanian expatriates in Italy Albanian literary critics Italian literary critics People from Shkodër People from Scutari vilayet University of Padua alumni