Martin CAMAJ
BIOGRAPHY
Camaj (1925-1992) was born in Temali in the Dukagjin region
of the northern Albanian alps. He is an émigré
writer of significance both for Albanian literature and for Albanian
scholarship. He received a classical education at the Jesuit
Saverian college in Shkodër and studied at the University
of Belgrade. From there he went on to do postgraduate research
in Italy, where he taught Albanian and finished his studies in
linguistics at the University of Rome in 1960. From 1970 to 1990
he served as professor of Albanian studies at the University
of Munich and lived in the mountain village of Lenggries in Upper
Bavaria until his death on 12 March 1992.
Camaj's academic research has concentrated on the Albanian
language and its dialects, in particular those of southern Italy.
His literary activities over a period of forty-five years cover
several phases of development. He began with poetry, a genre
to which he remained faithful throughout his life, but in later
years also devoted himself increasingly to prose. His first volumes
of classical verse Nji fyell ndër male, Prishtina
1953 (A flute in the mountains), and Kânga e vërrinit,
Prishtina 1954 (Song of the lowland pastures), were inspired
by his native northern Albanian mountains for which he never
lost his attachment, despite long years of exile and the impossibility
of return. These were followed by Djella, Rome 1958 (Djella),
a novel interspersed with verse about the love of a teacher for
a young girl of the lowlands. His verse collections Legjenda,
Rome 1964 (Legends) and Lirika mes dy moteve, Munich
1967 (Lyrics between two ages), which contained revised versions
of a number of poems from Kânga e vërrinit, were
reprinted in Poezi 1953-1967, Munich 1981 (Poetry 1953-1967).
Camaj's mature verse reflects the influence of the hermetic movement
of Italian poet Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970). The metaphoric
and symbolic character of his language increases with time as
does the range of his poetic themes. A selection of his poetry
has been translated into English by Leonard Fox in the volumes
Selected Poetry, New York 1990, and Palimpsest,
Munich & New York 1991. |
Albanian Literature in Translation
Modern
Authors from Albania (late 20th - 21st centuries)
