Ag Apolloni
Ag Apolloni (born June 13, 1982 in Kaçanik ( Kosovo )) is a Kosovar who works as a writer, poet, playwright and essayist in Albanian. He is professor of literary studies at Prishtina University . His literary publications are characterized by a dramatic and philosophical dimension, and his critical attitude towards history, politics and society is also reflected in them.
Live and act
Ag Apolloni graduated from elementary school and high school in his hometown Kaçanik and graduated from the University of Prishtina with a degree in dramaturgy and literature in 2005 . For economic reasons, he interrupted his studies in philosophy in 2006 and spent two years in Pristina Hospital to take care of his sick father, who died in 2007.
After continuing his studies, Ag Apolloni achieved the title of Masters in Philosophy in 2008 and obtained the title of Doctor of Philological Sciences (Dr. phil.) In 2012. Then Apolloni was appointed professor of literature at the University of Pristina.
Engagements
Apolloni has worked as a journalist, publisher and editor-in-chief in several daily newspapers as well as literary and cultural magazines in Pristina. In 2010 he reactivated the oldest literary magazine in Kosovo, "New Life" (in Albanian "Jeta e Re") (founded in 1949), which in 2006 ceased its publication. In 2013 he founded the culture magazine “Symbol”, in which he conducted interviews with: Linda Hutcheon , Jonathan Culler , Rita Dove , Gottfried Helnwein , Andreas Huyssen, Mieke Bal , DM Thomas, Javier Cercas . Apolloni's texts and works have been translated into numerous languages such as English, German, Italian, Czech, Macedonian, Serbian, etc. Apolloni has received several national prizes for his fictional and scientific work.
Start of writing
Ag Apolloni started writing in 2003. In a cafe he had heard a war story about a criminal who had gathered the eyes of his victims, and this story shocked him so much that he created a monodrama overnight. This monodrama with the title "Stephen or the story of an eye collector" was also published in the Austrian journal "Lichtungen". During his studies he kept a poetic diary, which he published in 2009 under the title "Zomb". While in 2013 he published the novel “The Howling of the Wolf” (Albanian “Ulurima e ujkut”), in which he combined pain with anger through a postmodern form. The author spares no one, he criticizes everyone: himself, the family, society, the nation, the world and God. After this novel, he writes the novel “Zazen” as a homage to a friend of his who, after completing his degree in philosophy, could not find a job in his home country, was annoyed about everything and decided to disappear, and then for a few days was later found dead in an abyss. While Apolloni's pieces evoke fear and compassion and his poems turn intimate life into art, his prose is awe and anger. His studies on “Postmodern Parable” (Albanian “Parabola postmoderne”) (2010), “The Paradigm of Proteus” (Albanian “Paradigma e Proteut”) (2012) and reviews published in journals show a tendency to open up new research avenues.
The work (selection)
“Zomb” (2009) is a madrigal book . It contains a total of 100 poems and a letter-shaped representation. The book begins with a provocative dedication ("My Friend's Wife") with two verses by the English poet John Milton ("If death connects me with you / it will be life for me"), which is divided into six parts: Overture , Edenic Waltz, Dionysian Sonata, Siren Symphony, Requiem Eros and Coda. "Zomb" is an erotic book based on the principles of the medieval madrigal. It is a book that has many elements of classical music, jazz, blues, rock, pop, etc. From world cinema, from ancient, medieval, modernist, contemporary literature and also from religions such as Buddhism, totemism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The book "Drama: Stephen, Halloween, Judith, Mat" (2010) contains three tragic dramas which, in the order of the number of characters, openly show the reference to the origin of Greek drama and ancient theater (for Stephen who only has one figure, fantasy leads to Thespis' chariot, Halloween includes the second figure based on Aeschylus' model, while Judith enters the third figure based on the model of Sophocles) as well as a text from Aristophanes' spirit as relaxation for the public. The monodrama Stephen, The Story of an Eye Collector, is a terrifying story of an eye collector who lives in his pantry with 4,998 eyes collected during the war in Bosnia and Kosovo. Apolloni wrote this work at the age of 21 as "an elegy for the last decade of the last century, namely a reminder of the crimes that shocked the world". This monodrama is a story that treats love and crime, life and death as a binomial that can shock the public. Halloween is an incestuous story about Halloween night. This drama was written by Apolloni, inspired by reading a festival about the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. Judith is a biblically motivated drama treated as a mythical story of the East-West conflict, the misunderstanding between man and God, and submission and courage. Comedy Mat is a pastime based on the works of directors Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen on the ridiculous confrontation between man and death.
The novel “The Howling of the Wolf” (2013) deals with numerous topics from different perspectives. The novel also deals with the painful separation of the living and the dead. The novel is full of desperation and anger, accompanied by a dose of humor, with references to music, painting, film and theater. The events take place in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Italy and Vienna where the novel ends.
“Zazen” (2014) is about the fate of a young Kosovar, a friend of the author, who is returning to his homeland after graduating. However, this return becomes tragic for him as he is neglected by the community, misunderstood by the village and declared insane by the family. “Zazen” links a variety of topics: social, philosophical, political, national and religious. It tells of Zen Zabel's fear and tragicomic life that has many ideas, few demands and no possibilities.
"Hamlet after Horatio" is a psychoanalytic tragedy that embodies Freud's theoretical ideas to tell a possible story of Hamlet, addressing the subject of double incest (brother-sister, mother-son) and the subject of multiple betrayals. "Hamlet after Horatio" is a pastiche or dramatic hypertext based on Shakespeare's Hamlet and Freud's interpretations of Hamlet as the imperfect Oedipus. Thematically, "Hamlet after Horatio" is an alternative story repeated by Oresteia, Oedipus Rex and Hamlet. This drama was announced as the winner of the annual Katarina Josipi Drama Award.
"Scanderbeg: Marlowe's Manuscript" is a postmodern manuscript-written piece to find a 16th century Elizabethan drama that is considered a lost drama: "The True Story of George Scanderbeg" by Christopher Marlowe. In writing this piece, the author has used a lot of historical, literary, cinematographic, and theatrical materials to create a believable Scanderbeg era reality. Here the hero presents himself between myth and reality, both a large and a human figure.
“Mein Mittelalter” is a book with autobiographical articles, also known as a narrative-essayistic autobiography. The book consists of 10 essays with Latin titles: Obscura, Vulgus, Doctrina, Pelegrin, Allegoria, Persona, Schisma, Templarius, Inquisitio and Memento, which cover the life of the author and today's Kosovar topicality.
Literary studies
In addition to fiction, Ag Apolloni also deals with literary studies. So far (2020) he has published two study books: “Postmodern Parable” and “The Paradigm of Proteus”. The first study, an extension of his master's thesis, is a monograph on the first postmodern Albanian writer Rexhep Qosja . The second study based on his doctoral thesis is a monograph on the most translated Albanian novel "The General of the Dead Army" by Ismail Kadare . He also published the book “Konica's Suitcase” in 2016, a collection of essays dealing with various topics in Albanian literature, such as language, values, themes and functions of propaganda, historical, political and religious. The main authors, works and phenomena of this literature are discussed. In 2019 he started to publish a critical book called "Commentum", this is his main project which will appear in several volumes.
Web links
- Rita Dove in conversation with Ag Apolloni
- The Freedom of the Novel an interview by Ag Apolloni with Javier Cercas
- The end of the era in Eurozine by Ag Apolloni
Individual evidence
- ↑ Katarina Josipi Award 2016 for Ag Apolloni
- ↑ Dr. Ag Apolloni on the University of Prishtina website
- ↑ Ag Apolloni on the title The end of the era of endings
- Numerous other individual references in Albanian can be found in the corresponding version
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Apolloni, Ag |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Kosovar author and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 13, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kaçanik |