Jolanda Kodra (1910–1963) was an Italian-Albanian writer and translator, one of the first woman writers in the Albanian language, as well as a translator into the Italian language of the works of Albanian writers, such as

Ndre Mjeda Ndre Mjeda (20 November 18661 August 1937) was an Albanian philologist, poet, priest, rilindas, translator and writer of the Albanian Renaissance. He was a member of the Mjeda family. He was influenced by the Jesuit writer Anton Xanoni and t ...

Migjeni Millosh Gjergj Nikolla (; 13 October 191126 August 1938), commonly known by the acronym pen name Migjeni, was an Albanian poet and writer, considered one of the most important of the 20th century. After his death, he was recognized as one of th ...

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 ...

, and Sterjo Spasse.

Life

Jolanda Kodra was born an Italian, Iolanda Guazzoni, in 1910, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, and was a niece of

Enrico Guazzoni Enrico Guazzoni (18 December 1876 – 23 September 1949) Birth name Enrico Guazzone. Additionally, document states in lower right, "è morte in Roma in 23-9-49 / died in Rome 23 September 1949". was an Italian screenwriter and film director. G ...

, an Italian screenwriter and film director. She was pursuing studies in a

classical lyceum Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

, when she met with Malo Kodra, originally from

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 ...

, who was a student in Rome. A fitness teacher, he brought her to

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 ...

in 1931. She soon learned

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 ...

and started not only to communicate well, but also to publish poetry in Albanian as well as literary criticism articles in well known magazines ''

Hylli i Dritës ''Hylli i Dritës'' ( en, The Star of Light) is an Albanian periodical first published in 1913 by Gjergj Fishta, one of the most notable writers and poets of Albanian literature. It is regarded as one of the most important Albanian magazines of t ...

'',

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 ...

, Fryma, Njeriu and '' Tomori'' on

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 ...

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

. Kodra worked particularly on Migjeni and Mjeda, which she later translated into Italian. She was one of the first women to publish in Albania, in the company of Selfixhe Ciu and

Musine Kokalari Musine Kokalari (10 February 1917 – 14 August 1983) was an Albanian prose writer and politician in Albania's pre-communist period. She was the founder of the Social-Democratic Party of Albania in 1943. Kokalari was the first published female wr ...

. After World War II she worked as a translator from and into Italian, as well as

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 ...

, of, among other, writers such as

and Sterjo Spasse. She was allowed to neither teach by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

nor to go back into her home country until 1962, one year before her death.

Work as a translator

Kodra translated into Italian almost the complete work of

, she worked on his poetry in the version of 1957, published by

Skënder Luarasi Skënder Luarasi (19 January 190027 April 1982) was an Albanian scholar, writer and anti-fascist activist. Life Luarasi was born in Luaras of Kolonjë region (back then Ottoman Empire, today's Albania) on 19 January 1900. He was the son of Alba ...

, and finished them in 1962, entitled ''Poesie e prose''. The only song missing is the ''Kanga e fundit''. Also she omitted Migjeni's notes, as well as certain subtitles of some poetries such as that of ''Dityramb Nietzsche-an'', ''Melodisë kombëtare'' (To the national melody) and the dedications. Her translations of the 1960s are very precious, because nowadays hard to find. Kodra is very true to the original text as a translator, which was a must in those years for a translator. For this reason there is an emotional shift in Kodra's translations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kodra, Jolanda 1910 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Italian women writers Albanian–Italian translators Albanian women writers Albanian writers Italian emigrants to Albania Writers from Rome 20th-century Italian translators