Frederik RRESHPJA
BIOGRAPHY
Frederik Rreshpja (1940-2006), also spelled Reshpja, was born
in Shkodra where he attended school. He later studied law at
the University of Tirana. Rreshpja was early to devote himself
to literature, his first verse being published when he was nine
years old. He was the author of verse for adults and children,
and of short stories and novels. In later years, suffering from
a mental disorder which isolated him from society, he was not
to be convinced that the Communist dictatorship was over and
that its secret service, the notorious Sigurimi, was no
longer pursuing him relentlessly. With no home or family, he
lived on the streets of Shkodra as a beggar and bohemian until
his death on 17 February 2006.
Despite his marginal existence, Frederik Rreshpja is a major
figure of Albanian poetry. His verse was published in the following
collections: Rapsodi shqiptare (Albanian Rhapsody), Tirana
1968; Në këtë qytet (In this City), Tirana
1973; Erdhi ora të vdes përsëri (The Time
has Come to Die Again), Tirana 1994; Lirika të zgjedhura
(Selected Lyrics), Tirana 1996; Rri sonte te unë
(Stay with me Tonight), Skopje 1998; and Vetmi (Solitude),
Tirana 2004. |
Albanian Literature in Translation
Modern
Authors from Albania (late 20th - 21st centuries)
