Teki Dervishi (16 January 1943 — 29 June 2011) was an

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 ...

poet, novelist, journalist and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Early life and career

Dervishi was born in Gjakova, in the region disputed between Yugoslavia and Axis-occupied Albania, now part of Kosovo. After completing his primary education, he was imprisoned for several years at Goli otok, at the age of 17. Dervishi was one of the youngest Albanian prisoners at Goli otok. Dervishi finished secondary school in

Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...

and studied at the

University of Pristina The University of Pristina ( sq, Universiteti i Prishtinës) is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–99) as a result of the K ...

.Gone but not forgetton
/ref> Besides Dervishi's literary activities, he also worked as a journalist. He worked for the Albanian-language newspaper ''Flaka e vëllazërimit'' (''The Flame of Fraternity'') in Skopje, and was later director and among the founders of the Albanian newspaper Bota sot. Dervishi also worked as the director of the

National Theatre of Kosovo The National Theatre of Kosovo ( sq, Teatri Kombëtar; sr, Narodno pozorište, script=Latn / ) was founded in 1946 in the city of Prizren, Kosovo. It is the highest ranked theatre institution in the country, with the largest number of produc ...

in the 2000s.

Later life

On 29 March 1999, at the outbreak of the NATO intervention in the Kosovo War, Dervishi was reported to have been assassinated. In July of that year, it was confirmed that he was alive.

Literary works

Novels: *''Pirgu i Lartë'' (The High Tower), 1972 *''Padrona'', 1973 *''Skedarët'' (The Catalogues), 1974 *''Herezia e Dervish Mallutës'' (The Heresy of Dervish Malluta), 1981 *''Palimpsest për Dush Kusarin'' (Palimpsest For Dush Kusari), 1993 Verse: *''Nimfa'' (The Nymph), 1970 *''Shtëpia e Sëmurë'' (The Sick House), 1978 *''Thashë'' (I Said), 1981 Theatre plays: *''Pranvera e Librave'' (The Springtime of Books), 1990 *''Zhvarrimi i Pjetër Bogdanit'' (The Exhumation of Pjetër Bogdani), 1990 *''Kufiri me atdhe'' (The Border with the Fatherland), 1996 *''Vojceku'' (Wozzeck), 1996

Notes and references

Notes: References: * by Robert Elsie, ''The Guardian, Saturday Review'', April 3, 1999, page 3. 1943 births Kosovan poets Albanian poets Kosovan journalists Albanian journalists Kosovan dramatists and playwrights Albanian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Gjakova 2011 deaths {{Kosovo-writer-stub