Gjekë MARINAJ
BIOGRAPHY
Born in the hamlet of Brrut near Rrapsh-Starja in the Malësia
e Madhe district of northern Albania in 1965, Gjekë Marinaj
studied journalism in Vlora and published his first news article
at age sixteen. In his mid-twenties, he published an anti-communist
poem called "The Horses" in Drita, a newspaper
of the Albanian Writers Union. Warned that his arrest for writing
the poem was imminent, Marinaj escaped the authorities by hiking
through the mountains overnight and crossing the border from
Albania into Yugoslavia. He carried with him only a few books
and a blanket to protect him from the barbed wire at the border.
From Yugoslavia, Marinaj emigrated to the United States. Now
an American citizen, he lives with his wife, Dusita, in Texas,
where he is working on a Ph. D. in literary studies at the University
of Texas at Dallas. He also teaches English and Communications,
including world literature, at Richland College. Marinaj is currently
president of the Albanian-American Society of Writers and editor
of Pena International, a bilingual literary journal published
in America. He has published two books of poetry: Mos më
ik larg (Do Not Depart From Me), Tirana 1995; and Infinit
(Infinite), Dallas 2000; and one book of author interviews: Ana
tjetër e pasqyrës (The Other Side of the Mirror),
Dallas 2003. He has also translated three books of poetry from
English into Albanian: Ora e Paqes (The Hour of Peace),
Dallas 2005, by Rainer Schulte; Në Shpellën e Platonit
(In Plato's Cave), Tirana 2006, by Frederick Turner; and Poezia
Amerikane (American Poetry), Tirana 2006, an anthology of
major contemporary American poets, including Ted Kooser, Gary
Snyder, and Maya Angelou. |
Albanian Literature in Translation
Modern
Authors from Albania (late 20th - 21st centuries)
