POETEKA No. 38 - Spring Issue
"The Cold War in the library" - Arian Leka:
In Poeteka (Albania), editor-in-chief Arian Leka recalls assembling his personal book collection during the communist period, in an essay titled "The Cold War in the library". Leka's maternal uncle sought to influence him with Russian literature exclusively, while his father fed him western literature. Most western literature available in Albanian at the time consisted of classics, particularly authors critical of the bourgeoisie and capitalist society. Nevertheless, Leka explains that the battle between the two literatures was widespread at the time, characterizing it as one of the most rarified conflicts in world history: "Western literature against eastern! People's democracies of the East fighting against progressive western writers!"
Gateway to literary Albania - Dasa Drndic:
Following a recent spell in Tirana as Poeteka's writer in residence, the Croatian author Dasa Drndic has extracts published in Albanian from two of her best known novels: Trieste (2007), which is soon to be published in Albanian in full, and Belladonna (2012). Both works deal with the fates of Jewish families fleeing Italian fascism during World War II and embarking on journeys that lead either to settling in or passing through Albania.
Lore and law: - Uran Butka
The Albanian writer, historian, and a former MP Uran Butka publishes a short story that he wrote during the communist period, when literature that went against the party line was considered a traitorous act and condemned.One of a series of such literary works now being published by the journal for the first time, the story recounts the fate of the protagonist, Syrja Qafëzezi, who fought for the Nationalists against the Italians during World War II, and is therefore blacklisted by the Albanian communists after the war. Syrja is forced to flee his village and go into hiding in the nearby woods, only for his fate to be sealed a few months later while attending his father's funeral. It is here that the local commander, assisted by soldiers, rushes to capture him – an unprecedented violation of the local burial customs. Yet Syrja promises to surrender once the ritual is over. The story closes with the commander handcuffing Syrja in front of the police station and reflecting: "Had he not turned up, they would have handcuffed me."
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2016-05-04-eurozinerev-en.html
