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Ismail Kadare

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Author

The Resume

    (January 28, 1936- )
    Born in Gjirokaster, Albania
    Novelist and poet
    Novels include 'The General of the Dead Army' (1968), 'The Siege' (1970), 'Broken April' (1980), 'The Palace of Dreams' (1981), 'The Pyramid' (1992), and 'The Successor' (2003)
    Poetry collections include 'Dreams' (1957) and 'My Century' (1961)
    Defected in Paris and received political asylum (October, 1990)
    First winner of the Man Booker International Prize (2005)

Why he might be annoying:

    He gained international recognition thanks to Albania's failure to join the Universal Copyright Convention, as a French publisher was able to translate his novels without bothering to get his authorization.
    He flattered dictator Enver Hoxha in 'The Winter of Great Solitude' (1973) to try to avoid conflict with the authorities.
    Ironically, he defected only two months before Albania legalized opposition parties, leading to the collapse of Communism.
    He noted about frequent speculation that he would receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, 'Many people think that I've already won it.' (2015)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He has been married to Helena Gushi for over fifty years.
    He relied heavily on myth and allegory to get his ideas past the Albanian censors.
    He was forced to perform manual labor in a rural village after one of his poems mocked Communist bureaucracy (1975).
    He said about his international fame, 'On the one hand, it secured protection for me from the regime. On the other hand, I was constantly under observation.'
    The New York Times likened his popularity in his homeland to that of Mark Twain in the US, noting, 'There is hardly an Albanian household without a Kadare book.'
    He was the first Albanian to be named a Commander of the Legion of Honor (2016).

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying