Aleksandër Stavre Drenova (; 11 April 187211 December 1947), commonly known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Asdreni, 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, rilindas, translator, writer and the author of the poem which later became the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. He is regarded as one of the most influential

Albanian writers 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 ...

of the 20th century and composed most of his

Albanian Renaissance The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

-inspired known works during that period. Born in the village of Drenovë, Asdreni completed his academic studies at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

in Romania where he enthusiastically committed himself to the Independence of Albania from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He maintained close liaison with fellow

Gjergj Fishta Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, rilindas, politician, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century, particularly ...

and

Lasgush Poradeci Llazar Sotir Gusho (; 27 December 189912 November 1987), commonly known by the pen name Lasgush Poradeci, was an Albanian philologist, poet, translator, writer and pioneer of modern Albanian literature. He is regarded as one of the most influen ...

and was notably inspired by the patriots

Girolamo de Rada Girolamo de Rada ( Arbërisht: ''Jeronim de Rada''; 29 November 181428 February 1903) was an Arbëreshë folklorist, journalist, lawyer, playwright, poet, rilindas and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of ...

and

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, translator, and one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian National Awakening. Regarded as a pioneer of moder ...

. ''Rreze dielli'', a collection of 99 poems, was his first prominent work which he dedicated to the national hero of Albania Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Devoted to

Edith Durham Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...

a friend of Albania, his second collection of again 99 poems, ''Ëndrra e lotë'', displayed a wider range of themes and motifs as well as his more astonishing maturity. On the 30th of June 2021 the new 10000 Lekë banknote was issued by the Bank of Albania with the main portrait being that of Asdreni.

Biography

Life and career

Asdreni was born as Aleksandër Stavre Drenova on 11 April 1872 into an

peasant family of

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

faith in the village of Drenovë close to the city of

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

in what was then part of the

and is now

. In his native village he properly received his early formal education at a Greek primary school and had just started secondary school in Korçë subsequently his father, Stavri Thimiu, died leaving him fatherless. The surrounding region Korçë had been a prime source of Albanian migration which was additionally strengthened by an earthquake in 1879. He consequently migrated to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1885 and rejoined his more elderly brothers where he also commenced his short-living studies at the Faculty of Political Science of the

. In the new country, Asdreni came into liaison with other

intellectuals and writers with whom he started to strengthen the

Albanian diaspora The Albanian diaspora () are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece and Southern Italy. The largest communities ...

in Romania for the struggle of national liberation. Prior to that, he was strongly inspired by

and

as well as by the

in which the Albanians came to acknowledge themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. Asdreni died in 1947 in Bucharest. He was initially buried there, at the Sfânta Vineri Cemetery (where

Nikolla Naço Nikolla Naço (1843 - 1913) was a figure involved in the Albanian National Awakening. Biography Naço originated from Korçë and in Egypt was involved in the Albanian National movement. At Bucharest in 1884 Naço joined the Albanian society ' ...

is also buried), but his remains were brought to Albania and buried in Drenovë in 1974.

Literature

Writings and publication

The literary career of Asdreni blossomed simultaneously with the beginning of the 20th century. In his first work, a collection of 99 poems known as the ''Rreze dielli'' dedicated to the Albanian national hero

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

who led a successful resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe, he followed the literary traditions of

and raised his love for the motherland encouraging his compatriots to enter the struggle for liberation from the

. ''Ëndrra e lotë'', his second work also composed of 99 poems dedicated to

who travelled extensively across Albania, is characterised by a wealth of poetic values. He instantly expressed his democratic values, his interests in societal problems at the time as well as his critical discourses on foreign domination. It was an important step from

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

towards Realism which was characterised by the historical time frame and reference, and writing about events and situations that happened in real life. His poem "Kënga e bashkimit" (The Song of Unity), published in the volume Ëndrra h lotë ("Dreams and tears", 1912), is a clear adaptation of the Romanian song "

Hora Unirii "Hora Unirii" ('Hora of the Union') is a poem by Vasile Alecsandri, published in 1856. The music of the song was composed by . The song is sung and danced especially on 24 January, the anniversary of the day in which the Romanian United Principali ...

" by

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...

Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numero ...

, Albanian literature: a short history, 2005, p. 104.

References

External links

Biography
an

of Asdreni by