Petro Janura (1911–1983) was a main personality of 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 ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

during

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

-mid

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

. A writer, journalist, folklorist, pedagogue, literary critic, and researcher, he is remembered as the founder of the Albanian language Catedra of the University of Skopje, and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of Skopje-based periodicals as ''Flaka e vëllazërimit'' (Flame of brotherhood), and ''Jehona'' (The echo).

Life

Janura was born on 25 March 1911 in

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri) is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in the north, the Vjos ...

, then still part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He emigrated to

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

at an early age and finished high school there. Janura studied law in Italy and graduated in jurisprudence from the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

. In 1941 he returned to Albania (at that time the Albanian Kingdom under Italy) where he started working as a judge in

Gostivar Gostivar ( mk, Гостивар , Albanian and Turkish: ''Gostivar''), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also ...

, which had been recently incorporated in the Albanian state. Janura remained in Yugoslavia after

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 opposing ...

. From that moment he was engaged in the development of the Albanian literature and language, literary criticism, and the overall status of the Albanian language within Yugoslavia, and specifically the Republic of Macedonia. He was also a folklorist, having collected and published rare Albanian folklore. As the head of the Albanian Catedra of the University of Skopje, he participated in the Orthography Congress of 1972 and was one of the signatories of the newly established orthographic rules. Janura died on 30 August 1983.

Work

Janura is the author of around 300 articles of three categories: informative-publicity, research studies, and monographs. The first category comprises articles about various literature figures, as Fan Noli, Zef Serembe,

Ali Asllani Ali Asllani (28 November 1884 in Vajza, Vlorë District, 20 December 1966 in Tirana, Albania) was an Albanian poet, politician and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Biography Asllani was born in village Vajza, Vlorë District, Ottoma ...

, Mark Gurakuqi, etc. Some of the research articles focus about

Voskopojë Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...

old scripts and writings, work of Naim Frasheri,

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 ...

, Asdreni, also the Codex of Berat, and the Albanian language in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

's archives.
Janura was very active as a contemporary literature critic, especially of that originating in Yugoslavia. His most important monographs are ''Për historinë e alfabetit shqip'' (For the history of the Albanian alphabet) of 1969 which remains one of the first studies on the

diachrony Synchrony and diachrony are two complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis. A ''synchronic'' approach (from grc, συν- "together" and "time") considers a language at a moment in time without taking its history into account. Synchronic l ...

of the Albanian language, and ''

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 ...

'' (Migjeni) of 1982, both published in Skopje. The book on

's work (Millosh Gjergj Nikolla) is a monograph of 326 pages and is one of the first in the history of Albanian literature. It is arranged in four sections. The first covers the poet's life important moments and how they affected his work, the second and largest section covers the poet's work in the prism of the

Albanology Albanology, also known as Albanian studies, is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the language, costume, literature, art, culture and history of Albanians. Within the studies the scientific methods of literature, ling ...

. The monograph led the way to many following studies on Migjeni's work.
He was also the co-author of didactic textbooks for elementary schools. and a poetry collections for children.O lejlek Haxhibek, Skopje: Nova Makedonija, 1966. OCLC 802412144
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Publications

*''Naim Frasheri. Work.'' (Naim Frasheri. Vepra), Beograd: Enti për botimin e teksteve i Republikës Socialiste të Sërbisë, 1963. OCLC 504735974. *''Early illuminist ideas of the Albanians of Polog'' (Ranite iluministički idei kaj Albancite vo Polog), Skopje 1983. OCLC 442193922. *''Migjeni'', Sopje: Flaka e vëllazërimit, 1982. OCLC 440105087. *''For the history of the Albanian alphabet'' (Për historinë e alfabetit shqip), Skopje: Nova Makedonia, 1969. OCLC 50816250. *''Folk tales'' (Përralla popullore), as collector and editor, Skopje: Nova Makedonija, 1964. *''Crane, you

hadji Hadji (also spelled ''Hajji'', ''Haji'' or ''Hatzi'') is a title and prefix that is awarded to a person who has successfully completed the Hajj ("pilgrimage") to Mecca. It may refer to: People * El Hadji Diouf (born 1981), Senegalese footballer * ...

- beg'' (O lejlek haxhibek), Skopje: Nova Makedonija, 1968. *''Longing of the emigrants'' (Përmallimi i gyrbetçijve) of Milisav Antonijevic-Drimkolski, as translator,

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

: Rilindja, 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janura, Petro 1911 births 1983 deaths People from Fier People from Janina vilayet Albanian expatriates in Yugoslavia Albanian expatriates in Romania Albanian educators Academic staff of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje Albanian translators Yugoslav translators Serbian–Albanian translators Albanian journalists Yugoslav journalists 20th-century Albanian writers Yugoslav writers 20th-century male writers Albanian folklorists Yugoslav folklorists Albanian literary critics Yugoslav literary critics 20th-century Albanian judges University of Pisa alumni Albanologists Albanian academics Yugoslav academics 20th-century translators 20th-century journalists