Mitrush Kuteli
Encyclopedia
Dhimitër Pasko , alias Mitrush Kuteli (or Janus), was an Albanian
writer and translator.
where, in 1934, he graduated with a doctorate in economics.
While in Bucharest he became a journalist with the Albanian weekly newspaper Shqipëri' e re (New Albania), using the pseudonym Janus
. In 1937 he published Lasgush Poradeci
's collection of verse, Ylli i zemrës (The Star of the heart), and the following year, the first edition of his first authored book, Nete shqipëtare (Albanian nights), a compilation of eight tales of village life from his native Pogradec. This edition was largely detroyed by a fire, and only became widely-read through a second edition published in 1944.
He returned to Albania in 1942, and during WWII wrote and self-published most of his major works. At the end of the war he founded the short-lived literary periodical, Revista letrare (Literary Review), with Nexhat Hakiu, Vedat Kokona and Sterjo Spasse, joined the editorial board of Bota e re (New World), the first Albanian post-war literary journal, and became a founding member of the Albanian League of Writers and Artists
.
Dhimitër Pasko died of a heart attack in 1967, leaving a novel on an Illyrian theme unfinished.
and customs union
agreed between the two countries, and of a Serbian re-occupation of Kosovo
; an earlier 1944 Pasko poem, "Poem kosovar" (Kosovar poem), asserted his criticism of Serbian actions. Upon the Albanian delegation's return from Yugoslavia, Pasko was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for his criticism, during which he attempted suicide. Following the freeing of Yugoslavia's hold over Albanian party politics, Pasko was released and worked as a translator for Naim Frashëri, the state-owned Tirana
publishing company.
Pasko, as with other Albanian writers of the time, accommodated the imposed cultural doctrine of Zhdanovism by translating Soviet
-approved Russian authors, although he found himself able to translate his favourite Russian, Romanian, and Spanish writers, publish tales and verse for children, and adapt Albanian oral verse to prose.
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
writer and translator.
Career
Dhimitër Pasko studied at a foreign language school in Greece, later moving to BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
where, in 1934, he graduated with a doctorate in economics.
While in Bucharest he became a journalist with the Albanian weekly newspaper Shqipëri' e re (New Albania), using the pseudonym Janus
Janus
-General:*Janus , the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings*Janus , a moon of Saturn*Janus Patera, a shallow volcanic crater on Io, a moon of Jupiter...
. In 1937 he published Lasgush Poradeci
Lasgush Poradeci
Llazar Sotir Gusho, , is a 20th century Albanian poet and writer known by the pseudonym Lasgush Poradeci.-Biography:...
's collection of verse, Ylli i zemrës (The Star of the heart), and the following year, the first edition of his first authored book, Nete shqipëtare (Albanian nights), a compilation of eight tales of village life from his native Pogradec. This edition was largely detroyed by a fire, and only became widely-read through a second edition published in 1944.
He returned to Albania in 1942, and during WWII wrote and self-published most of his major works. At the end of the war he founded the short-lived literary periodical, Revista letrare (Literary Review), with Nexhat Hakiu, Vedat Kokona and Sterjo Spasse, joined the editorial board of Bota e re (New World), the first Albanian post-war literary journal, and became a founding member of the Albanian League of Writers and Artists
Albanian League of Writers and Artists
The Albanian League of Writers and Artists is an organization of creators, located in Tirana, Albania, which includes writers, composers, and artists and critics of the literary and artistic values.- History :...
.
Dhimitër Pasko died of a heart attack in 1967, leaving a novel on an Illyrian theme unfinished.
Imprisonment and release
The Albanian Communist Party took power after WWII, but by 1947 was in the control of Yugoslavia. Pasko, an official Albanian delegate to Yugoslavia, disapproved of a proposed currencyCurrency union
A currency union is where two or more states share the same currency, though without there necessarily having any further integration such as an Economic and Monetary Union, which has in addition a customs union and a single market.There are three types of currency unions:#Informal - unilateral...
and customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...
agreed between the two countries, and of a Serbian re-occupation of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
; an earlier 1944 Pasko poem, "Poem kosovar" (Kosovar poem), asserted his criticism of Serbian actions. Upon the Albanian delegation's return from Yugoslavia, Pasko was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for his criticism, during which he attempted suicide. Following the freeing of Yugoslavia's hold over Albanian party politics, Pasko was released and worked as a translator for Naim Frashëri, the state-owned 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...
publishing company.
Pasko, as with other Albanian writers of the time, accommodated the imposed cultural doctrine of Zhdanovism by translating Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-approved Russian authors, although he found himself able to translate his favourite Russian, Romanian, and Spanish writers, publish tales and verse for children, and adapt Albanian oral verse to prose.
Works
- "Lasgush PoradeciLasgush PoradeciLlazar Sotir Gusho, , is a 20th century Albanian poet and writer known by the pseudonym Lasgush Poradeci.-Biography:...
" - 1937 - "Net shqiptare" (Albanian nights) - 1938
- "Pylli i gështenjave" (The Chestnut Forrest) - 1958
- "Ago Jakupi e të tjera rrëfime" (Ago Jakupi and other stories) - 1943
- "Sulm e lotë" (Attack and tears) - 1943
- "Shënime letrare" (Literary Notes) - 1944
- "Havadan më havadan" (From Havadan to Havadan) - 1944
- "Kapllan aga i Shaban Shpatës" (Kapllan Aga of Shaban Shpata) - 1944
- "Dashuria e berberit Artan" (The Love of Barber Artan) - 1946
- "Xinxifilua" - 1962
- "E Bija e Hënës dhe e diellit|Tregime të moçme shqiptare" (Old Albanian Tales) - 1965
- "Tregime të zgjedhura" (Selected Stories) - 1972
- "Baltë nga kjo tokë" (Mud from this land) - 1973
- "Në një cep të Ilirisë së poshtme" (A view of Southern Illyria) - 1983
- "Këngë e britma nga qyteti i djegur" (Songs and Cries from a Burnt city)
- "E madhe është gjëma e mëkatit" (Great is the Pity of Sin) - 1993
Translations
- "Kujtimet e një gjahtari" (Memories from a Hunter) from Turgeniev
- "Tregimet e Petërburgut" (Peterburg's Stories) and "Shpirtra të vdekura" (Dead Souls) from Gogol
- "Zotërinj Gollovlinovë" (The Golovlyov Family) from Mikhail Saltykov-ShchedrinMikhail Saltykov-ShchedrinMikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin , better known by his pseudonym Shchedrin , was a major Russian satirist of the 19th century. At one time, after the death of the poet Nikolai Nekrasov, he acted as editor of the well-known Russian magazine, the Otechestvenniye Zapiski, until it was banned by...
Further reading
- Dhimitër Pasko biography; Robert Elsie
- "The Fall of Xheladin Bey": Dhimitër Pasko (Mitrush Kuteli); translation in English by Robert Elsie
- Dhimitër Pasko (Mitrush Kuteli) poetry; translation in English by Robert Elsie
- "Translators to Albanian: Dhimitër Pasko, Fan S. Noli, Lasgush Poradeci, Vedat Kokona, Gjergj Fishta, Gjeke MarinajGjeke Marinaj-Early life and career:Gjekë Marinaj was born in 1965 in the small town of Brrut located in the Malësi e Madhe District of northern Albania, half-way through the four-decade rule of communist leader Enver Hoxha. Raised within an authoritarian state, Marinaj aspired to a writing career early on and...
, Kostandin Kristoforidhi". ISBN 1156200865. Retrieved 29 March 2011 - Images of Dhimitër Pasko (Mitrush Kuteli). Retrieved 29 March 2011