Julia Gjika (born 1949) is an

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 ...

n-born poet living in the United States. She is one of the few writers publishing in the

Albanian language Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...

and writes poetry as well working as a journalist. Her poems have been praised by her peers and have been included in several publications of collected works.

Biography

Julia Naçi was born 1 July 1949 in Gjirokastra, Albania during the

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

dictatorship, which imposed strict sanctions and censorship on literature allowing no development of literary markets until the 1970s. In spite of the ban, Gjika studied finance at Ushrarake Academy and Albanian literature at university. She served as editor of the magazine ''10 Korriku'' (July 10) and was chief financial officer in various military units in Korca and

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 ...

. She was one of a group of "military poets," women who served together in the Albanian military and wrote poems, which included award-winning poet

Iliriana Sulkuqi Iliriana Sulkuqi (born 1951) is an Albanian poet and journalist living in the United States. She was born in Elbasan and studied at the Skanderbeg Military University. After completing her education, she served as an officer in the academy and as ...

. Gjika published two works in Albania, her first book ''Ditëlindje'' (''Birthday'') in 1971 and the second ''Ku Gjej Poezinë'' (''Where I Find Poetry'') in 1978. She immigrated to the United States in 1996 and took advantage of the absence of censorship. She is a regular contributor to the press of the Albanian-American diaspora in such works as ''Dielli'' and ''Iliria'' as well as in the Albanian publications ''Shqip'' and ''Korça'', in which she writes about the lives of immigrants in America and other places the diaspora have settled, culture, and social issues. Gjika's work is well respected by her peers in eastern Europe and has been included in published collections of poetic works. Jan M. Stuchly, a Moravian lawyer and writer, has published three collections of poems from those he considers to be "masterpieces." He included Gjika's work in his 1998 collection. A recent publication by Raimonda Moisiu, ''Letrat shqip këndej e përtej Atlantikut'' (''Letters Slip Here and Across the Atlantic'') included works by Gijika, in his attempt to preserve those voices he deems "masters of dialogue and conversation, who communicate artistic values". She is married to the scientist Thanas Gjika and has a daughter.

Selected works

* ''Ku Gjej Poezinë'' (Where I Find Poetry) (1978) * ''Muzg : (vëllim poetik)'' (2008) * ''Ëndrra e Kthimit'' (The Dream of Return) (2010) * ''Oxhaku famëmadh Zogu : album historik i përzgjedhur me esse, ligjërata, kujtime..., etj.'' (with Ramiz Lushaj) * ''Legjenda shqiptare e Rozafatit'' (The Albanian legend of Rozafat) (with Rozi Theohari, Niko Dako & Pandi Mele) *''Ëndrrra e kthimit : poezi'' (with Stavri Sharxhi) *''Jorgjie Misa, sopranoja me zë të veçantë që e "zbuluan" rusët'' *''Jeta e vërtetë - jeta në shërbim të njerëzve'' *''Vals me jetën : tregim'' *''Dielli zbret ngadalë nëpër shkallë të arta : poezi'' *''Lojë luftash : poezi'' *''Amerikë për mua është Korça ime e dashur : (portret për mjekun stomatolog, Spiro Bimbli, në 70 vjetorin e lindjes)'' *''Nga kampet e përqëndrimit drejtoreshë e "Ralph Lauren" : dlira Merlika Hepburn' (with Edira Merlika (Hepburn))

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjika, Julia 1949 births Living people 20th-century Albanian poets Albanian women writers Albanian writers Albanian emigrants to the United States People from Gjirokastër Albanian women poets 20th-century women writers