Faik Konica
Encyclopedia
Faik Konica born in Konitsa
, was one of the greatest figures of Albania
n culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington
, his literary review, Albania, became the focal publication of Albanian writers living abroad. Faik Konica wrote little in the way of literature, but as a stylist, critic
, publicist
and political figure he had a tremendous impact on Albanian writing and on Albanian culture at the time.
, Ottoman Empire
, now in northern Greece
, not far from the present Albanian border. After elementary schooling in Turkish
in his native village, he studied at the Xavierian
Shkodër Jesuit College
in Shkodra which offered him not only some instruction in Albania but also an initial contact with central European culture and Western
ideas. From there, he continued his schooling at the eminent French-language Imperial Galata secondary school (Galatasaray High School) in Istanbul
.
In 1890, at the age of fifteen, he was sent to study in France
where he spent the next seven years. After initial education at secondary schools in Lisieux
(1890) and Carcassonne
(1892), he registered at the University of Dijon, from which he graduated in 1895 in Romance languages
and philology
. After graduation, he moved to Paris
for two years where he studied Medieval French literature
, Latin
and Greek
at the famous Collège de France
. He finished his studies at prestigious Harvard University
in the United States
, although little is known of this period of his life. As a result of his highly varied educational background, he was able to speak and write Albanian
, Greek
, Italian
, French
, German
, English
and Turkish
fluently.
Konica strove for a more refined Western culture
in Albania
, but he also valued his country's traditions. He was, for instance, one of the first to propagate the idea of editing the texts of older Albanian literature
. In an article entitled "Për themelimin e një gjuhës letrarishte shqip", (On the foundation of an Albanian literary language), published in the first issue of Albania
, Konica also pointed to the necessity of creating a unified literary language
. He suggested the most obvious solution, that the two main dialects, Tosk and Gheg, should be fused and blend
ed gradually. His own fluid
style
was highly influential in the refinement
of southern Albanian Tosk prose
writing, which decades later was to form the basis of the modern Albanian literary language (standard language
).
While in Brussels, in 1896-7 Konica started the publication of the peridical Albania
, which ended its publications in 1910. It was printed both in Brussels
and Paris
. The magazine was one of the most important rilindas magazines of that time.
In 1903-1904, Faik Konica was resident at Oakley Crescent in Islington
, London
. There he continued to edit and publish, under the pseudonym Thrank Spirobeg, the dual language (French/Albanian) periodical Albania that he had founded in Brussels
in 1897. He contributed bitingly sarcastic articles on what he saw as the cultural backwardness and naivety of his compatriots.
Albania helped to spread awareness
of Albanian culture and the Albanian cause across Europe
, and was highly influential in the development and refinement of Southern Albanian prose writing. In the words of the famous French poet Guillaume Apollinaire
, "Konica turned a rough idiom of sailors inns into a beautiful, rich and supple language".
Whilst in Brussels, Konica had a correspondence
with Apollinaire regarding an article published by the poet in L'Europen. When Apollinaire came to London seeking to regain the affections of Annie Playden, an English governess
he had met and fallen in love with in Germany
, he stayed with Konica at Oakley Crescent.
Apollinaire published a memoir
of Konica in the Mercure de France on 1 May 1912, which begins: "Of the people I have met and whom I remember with the greatest pleasure, Faik Bey Konica is one of the most unusual". He recalls: "We would have lunch the Albanian way, which is to say, endlessly. The lunches were so long that I could not visit a single museum in London, as we would always arrive when the doors closed, and the attention and care with which Konica edited his articles meant that the journal always came out very late. In 1904, only the issues for 1902 appeared; in 1907, the issues for 1904 came out at regular intervals. The French journal L'Occident is the only one that could compete with Albania in that respect".
He organized the Albanian Congress of Trieste
, held in period February 27 — March 6, 1913. Konica initially gave his support to the Central Albanian
government of Essad Pasha.
He died in Washington
on 15 December 1942 and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery
in Boston
. In 1998 his remains were transferred to Tirana
and interred at the Tirana Park on the Artificial Lake
.
Konitsa
Konitsa is a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border. It lies amphi-theatre shaped on a mountain slope of the Pindos mountain range, overlooking the valley where the river Aoos meets the river Voidomatis. The valley is used for farming. Konitsa is a regional centre for many small Pindos...
, was one of the greatest figures of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, his literary review, Albania, became the focal publication of Albanian writers living abroad. Faik Konica wrote little in the way of literature, but as a stylist, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
and political figure he had a tremendous impact on Albanian writing and on Albanian culture at the time.
Biography
Konica was born on 15 March 1875 in the town of KonitsaKonitsa
Konitsa is a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border. It lies amphi-theatre shaped on a mountain slope of the Pindos mountain range, overlooking the valley where the river Aoos meets the river Voidomatis. The valley is used for farming. Konitsa is a regional centre for many small Pindos...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, now in northern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, not far from the present Albanian border. After elementary schooling in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
in his native village, he studied at the Xavierian
Xaverian Brothers
The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier...
Shkodër Jesuit College
Shkodër Jesuit College
Shkodër Jesuit College is a Jesuit college in Shkodër, in northwestern Albania. The college has tradiationally been an important centre of scholarly study into Albanian literature and language.-History:The college was started in 1877, as a Xavier college ....
in Shkodra which offered him not only some instruction in Albania but also an initial contact with central European culture and Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
ideas. From there, he continued his schooling at the eminent French-language Imperial Galata secondary school (Galatasaray High School) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
In 1890, at the age of fifteen, he was sent to study in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where he spent the next seven years. After initial education at secondary schools in Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
(1890) and Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
(1892), he registered at the University of Dijon, from which he graduated in 1895 in Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
and philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. After graduation, he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for two years where he studied Medieval French literature
Medieval French literature
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, literature written in Oïl languages during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century....
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
at the famous Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
. He finished his studies at prestigious Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, although little is known of this period of his life. As a result of his highly varied educational background, he was able to speak and write Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
fluently.
Konica strove for a more refined Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, but he also valued his country's traditions. He was, for instance, one of the first to propagate the idea of editing the texts of older Albanian literature
Albanian literature
The Albanian literature is the literature written by Albanians.-Renaissance:The expansion of the Ottoman Empire pushed many Albanians from their homeland during the period of the Western European Renaissance humanism...
. In an article entitled "Për themelimin e një gjuhës letrarishte shqip", (On the foundation of an Albanian literary language), published in the first issue of Albania
Albania (periodical)
Albania was an Albanian periodical published by Faik Konica, one of the most important figures of Albanian culture in the early decades of the twentieth century...
, Konica also pointed to the necessity of creating a unified literary language
Literary language
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include liturgical writing. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others...
. He suggested the most obvious solution, that the two main dialects, Tosk and Gheg, should be fused and blend
Blend
In linguistics, a blend is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes.-Linguistics:...
ed gradually. His own fluid
Fluid
In physics, a fluid is a substance that continually deforms under an applied shear stress. Fluids are a subset of the phases of matter and include liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some extent, plastic solids....
style
Style (fiction)
In fiction, style is the manner in which the author tells the story. Along with plot, character, theme, and setting, style is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.-Fiction-writing modes:...
was highly influential in the refinement
Refinement
In formal methods, program refinement is the verifiable transformation of an abstract formal specification into a concrete executable program. Stepwise refinement allows this process to be done in stages...
of southern Albanian Tosk prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
writing, which decades later was to form the basis of the modern Albanian literary language (standard language
Standard language
A standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
).
While in Brussels, in 1896-7 Konica started the publication of the peridical Albania
Albania (periodical)
Albania was an Albanian periodical published by Faik Konica, one of the most important figures of Albanian culture in the early decades of the twentieth century...
, which ended its publications in 1910. It was printed both in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The magazine was one of the most important rilindas magazines of that time.
In 1903-1904, Faik Konica was resident at Oakley Crescent in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There he continued to edit and publish, under the pseudonym Thrank Spirobeg, the dual language (French/Albanian) periodical Albania that he had founded in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in 1897. He contributed bitingly sarcastic articles on what he saw as the cultural backwardness and naivety of his compatriots.
Albania helped to spread awareness
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
of Albanian culture and the Albanian cause across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and was highly influential in the development and refinement of Southern Albanian prose writing. In the words of the famous French poet Guillaume Apollinaire
Guillaume Apollinaire
Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki, known as Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother....
, "Konica turned a rough idiom of sailors inns into a beautiful, rich and supple language".
Whilst in Brussels, Konica had a correspondence
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
with Apollinaire regarding an article published by the poet in L'Europen. When Apollinaire came to London seeking to regain the affections of Annie Playden, an English governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
he had met and fallen in love with in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he stayed with Konica at Oakley Crescent.
Apollinaire published a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
of Konica in the Mercure de France on 1 May 1912, which begins: "Of the people I have met and whom I remember with the greatest pleasure, Faik Bey Konica is one of the most unusual". He recalls: "We would have lunch the Albanian way, which is to say, endlessly. The lunches were so long that I could not visit a single museum in London, as we would always arrive when the doors closed, and the attention and care with which Konica edited his articles meant that the journal always came out very late. In 1904, only the issues for 1902 appeared; in 1907, the issues for 1904 came out at regular intervals. The French journal L'Occident is the only one that could compete with Albania in that respect".
He organized the Albanian Congress of Trieste
Albanian Congress of Trieste
The Albanian Congress of Trieste was a congress of Albanians held in Trieste, Austria-Hungary in period February 27 — March 6, 1913, and organized by Faik Konica and Sotir Kolea....
, held in period February 27 — March 6, 1913. Konica initially gave his support to the Central Albanian
Republic of Central Albania
The Republic of Central Albania was a short-lived unrecognized state established on October 16, 1913 with its administrative centre in Durres, today in Albania.- History :...
government of Essad Pasha.
He died in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on 15 December 1942 and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery
Forest Hills Cemetery
Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was designed in 1848.-Overview:...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. In 1998 his remains were transferred to Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
and interred at the Tirana Park on the Artificial Lake
Tirana Park on the Artificial Lake
The Tirana Park on the Artificial Lake or the Big Park of Tirana , or even the Park of Saint Procopius , is a 230-hectare public park situated on the southern part of Tirana, Albania...
.
External links
- Robert Elsie's introduction to Faik Konitza (pdf)
- "Faïk Konitza – Selected Correspondence 1896-1942"
- "Albanian Articles of Faik Konica at shqiperia.com"
- Luan Starova: "Faik Konitza and Guillaume Apollinaire"
- Faik Konica, Vepra 1, 2, 3 dhe 4 te www.ShtepiaeLibrit.com
- "Albania" – by Faik Konitza (Jun 1898 – Nov 1899)