Gjergj Bubani (1899-1954) was an Albanian publicist, writer, and translator. He is also known as Jorgji Bubani, or Brumbulli (the

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

) which was his

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 ...

for his

satiric Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

articles. Bubani was born in

Boboshticë Boboshticë ( rup, Bubushtitsa; bg, Бобощица, ''Boboshtitsa''; mk, Бобоштица, ''Boboštica'') is a village in the former Drenovë Municipality of the Korçë County in southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it ...

, a village near

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau some ...

, today's

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 ...

. He attended the French Lycee in Korçë, and then went to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

where he attended the Industrial College. Bubani studied there

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. After the studies he moved to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, where at the time there was a large and active Albanian community (see:

Albanians in Romania The Albanians (''Shqiptarë'' in Albanian, ''Albanezi'' in Romanian) are an ethnic minority in Romania. As an officially recognized ethnic minority, Albanians have one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies to the ''League of Alban ...

).
His publicistics started in 1919, with some articles for the newspaper ''Kuvendi'' (Convent) in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In Romania, Bubani worked for the Albanian newspaper ''Shqiperi' e Re'' (New Albania) from 1920 to 1922 (started initially in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and from July 1920 moved to Costanza by Albanian activist Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi). After that, Bubani published his own journals: ''Dodona'' (named after the ancient oracle) in January 1922, the short-lived ''Zëri Shqipëtar'' (The Albanian Voice) in March 1926, and ''Kosova'' (

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 ...

), with a nationalistic orientation, with 33 issues from 1932 to 1933 in Albanian, Romanian, and French. His first satirical work appeared in the ''Dodona'' newspaper.
He also worked as a secretary in the Albanian consulate in Costanza, and later in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

.
Bubani was also a translator from

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Romanian. A great contribute consists of the translation of works from

Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to ''Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Eftim ...

, Romanian dramaturg originating from the same village (Boboshticë) as Bubani. Zoi Xoxe, an Albanian publicist and pro-monarchist, invited Bubani to move back to Albania in 1936. Bubani moved his family to

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and started as chief-editor of ''Drita'' (The light). He would later become the Director of

Radio Tirana Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

which started to broadcast on 28 November 1938. During 1943 ( Italian invasion) he was member of the Italo-Albanian literary society. During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, he worked for the Ministry of Culture. Bubani was abducted by the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

from his home in Fortuzi Street in Tirana on November 13, 1944, thus few days after Tirana's liberation by the partisans of National Liberation Front. He was accused of being a collaborator with the Italian and German occupators. He would remain in prison until 27 January 1945, when he was brought into the

Special Court An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infrin ...

( sq, Gjyqi special) together with many other well-known former politicians, military figures,

Balli Kombetar Balli may refer to: Places Ballı (literally "(place) with honey") is a Turkish place name that may refer to the following places in Turkey: * Ballı, Ardanuç, a village in the district of Ardanuç, Artvin Province * Ballı, Kahta, a village i ...

leaders, publicists, clerics, etc., including

Fejzi Alizoti Fejzi Alizoti (22 September 1874, Gjirokastër – 14 April 1945, Tirana), also referred to as Feyzi Bey Alizoti, was an Ottoman and later Albanian politician who served as the Chairman of the Central Administration of Albania from January 1916 to ...

Kostaq Kotta Kostaq Kotta, also known as Koço Kotta (5 May 1886 – 1 September 1947), was an Albanian politician and twice prime minister during the reign of King Zog, who took a pro-Italian right-wing stance. Biography He was educated in Greece and Italy ...

Terenzio Tocci Terenzio Tocci ( sq, Terenc Toçi; 9 March 1880 – 14 April 1945) was an Italo-Albanian politician of Arbëresh origins. Distinguished for patriotic activities before the Albanian independence he went on to serve during World War II as Chairman ...

Gustav von Myrdacz Gustav von Myrdacz (12 July 1874 – died 11 July 1945) was an Austrian noble who was instrumental in organizing the Royal Albanian Army from the early 1920s to 1945. He was referred to in Albania as Gustav Mirdashi. Early life and training G ...

Ibrahim Biçakçiu Ibrahim Aqif Biçakçiu (also known as Ibrahim Biçaku) (10 September 1905 - 4 January 1977) was an Albanians, Albanian landowner and Axis powers, Axis Collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II#Yugoslavia, collaborator, List of heads ...

Mihal Zallari Mihal Zallari (25 September 1894 – 17 March 1976) was an Albanian historian, politician, journalist and poet. He served as Chairman of the National Parliament of Albania from 1943 to 1944. Life Born in Frashër on 25 September 1894, he hai ...

, Javer Hurshiti,

Beqir Valteri Beqir Valteri (Albanian: ''Beqir Valteri''; 1892 April 14, 1945, Tirana ) Was an Albanian politician and nationalist who held Republican and Fascist ideas. In the 1920s he was a supporter of Fan Noli. He was the first assassin of Ahmet Zogu. In ...

, Zef Kadarja,

Kolë Tromara Kol Tromara (1882–1945) was an Albanian nationalist and political figure of the first half of the 20th century. Tromara was born in Albanian Orthodox Qytezë, a town in today's Devoll municipality, back then part of the Ottoman Empire, son ...

Bahri Omari Bahri Omari (10 February 188914 April 1945) was an Albanian politician, publisher, and writer. Early life Born on 10 February 1889, in the city of Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (today Albania), he became at the age of 25 the pref ...

, etc.

Koçi Xoxe Koçi Xoxe (pronounced ; 1 May 1911 – 11 June 1949) was an Albanian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. He was supported by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz T ...

was leading the court sessions, while

Bedri Spahiu Bedri Spahiu (July 13, 1908 – 11 January 1998) was an Albanian politician and Lieutenant-General and one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian Labour Party up to 1956. Life Born into a Muslim family in Gjirokastër, Spahiu completed ...

was the

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

. Though the three witnesses testified that Bubani was an early sympathizer of the Liberation Movement, he was sentenced to 15 years. He was sent to forced work in the draining projects near

Maliq Maliq ( sq-definite, Maliqi) formerly known as Malik, is a town and a municipality in Korçë County of eastern Albania. It is the smaller of two cities in the district, the other being Korçë, southeast of Maliq. The current enlarged municipalit ...

. Physically exhausted and frustrated, he was released 5 years later. He did not engage in anything after, until his death in 1954.

Bibliography

*''Gjergj Bubani, i harruari i përkohshëm : ese monografike'', Kliton Nesturi, Tirana: Omsca-1, 2010. *''Vepra e zgjedhur I'', Tirana: Omsca-1, 2007. *''Vepra e zgjedhur II'', Tirana: Omsca-1, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bubani, Gjergj Writers from Korçë People from Manastir vilayet 20th-century Albanian writers Albanian journalists Albanian publishers (people) 1899 births 1954 deaths Albanian expatriates in Romania Albanian translators Romanian–Albanian translators Russian–Albanian translators 20th-century translators Albanian satirists 20th-century journalists