Fatos Arapi (July 19, 1930 – October 11, 2018) was 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 share ...

n poet, short story writer, translator and journalist. Arapi's publications have been highly praised by his readers and his peers and have been awarded various national and international poetry prizes. In 2008 Arapi became the first Albanian poet to win the Golden Wreath Award (Struga Poetry Evenings Award).

Early life

Arapi was born in 1930 in

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...

. He studied economics 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 h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

from 1949 to 1954, then worked as a journalist in

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 ...

.Fatos ARAPI
''albanianliterature.net''

Career

Arapi was a professor of History and Philology at the

University of Tirana The University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti i Tiranës, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the ''State University of Tirana'' in 1957 through merging of f ...

. Arapi was a pioneer of free verse and experimental poetry in 1960s Albanian literature. He wrote about the maritime universe. He authored more than twenty-five books including six poetry collections and many short stories and novels. He translated the works of

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

and

Nikola Vaptsarov Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov ( bg, Никола Йонков Вапцаров; 7 December 1909 – 23 July 1942) was a Bulgarian poet, communist and revolutionary. Working most of his life as a machinist, he only wrote in his spare time. Despite the ...

into Albanian. He was the editor-in-chief of two anthologies: ''Songs of the Peoples'' and ''Anthology of Turkish Verse''. Arapi made his debut in published poetry in the second half of the fifties, and in 1962 and 1966 he published two poetry collections, ''Poetic Paths'' and ''Poems and Verses''. Later came ''Rhythm of Iron'', ''Give me a name'', ''Gloria Victis'' and ''Solar Eclipse''. Arapi was also known for his versatile prose. He wrote several novels, including ''Wild Geese'', ''Snow Cove'', and ''Headless Genius''. He was also the editor-in-chief of two anthologies: ''Songs of the People'' and ''Anthology of Turkish Verse''.

Death

Arapi died on 11 October 2018.

Works

Poetry

*''Shtigjet poetike'' (Poetic Paths), 1962 *''Poema dhe vjersha'' (Poems and Verses), 1966 *''Ritme të hekura'' (Rhythms of Iron), 1968 *''Më jepni një emër'' (Give Me A Name), 1972 (later banned by

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...

's regime) *''Gloria victis'', 1997 *''Eklipsi i endrrës'' (Solar Eclipse), 2002

Short stories

*''Patate të egra'' (Sour Potatoes), 1970 *''Dikush më buzëqeshte'' (Someone Was Smiling At Me), 1972 *''Gjeniu pa kokë'' (Headless Genius), 1999

Plays

*''Partizani pa emër'' (The Anonymous Partisan), 1962 *''Qezari dhe ushtari i mirë Shvejk'' (Caesar and the Good Soldier Švejk), 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arapi, Fatos 1930 births 2018 deaths Albanian male short story writers Albanian short story writers 21st-century Albanian writers 20th-century Albanian poets 21st-century Albanian poets Albanian journalists Albanian translators Albanian dramatists and playwrights Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates People from Vlorë 20th-century short story writers 21st-century short story writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Academic staff of the University of Tirana 20th-century translators