Gjekë Marinaj

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Gjekë Marinaj (2011)

Gjekë Marinaj (born May 26, 1965 in Brrut , Malësia e Madhe County , Albania ) is an Albanian-American poet , writer , translator and literary critic. He currently resides in the United States in Richardson, Texas . Marinaj was the first president of the Association of Albanian-American Writers , founded in 2001, and has published a number of works in poetry and prose, but has also made a name for himself with his literary criticism. His work has received several awards.

life and career

Marinaj was born in 1965 in the remote, mountainous region of Malësia e Madhe in northern Albania. His first publications appeared in local newspapers in Shkodra . Then he was able to publish in some national Albanian publications such as Zëri i Rinisë ("The Voice of Youth"), Luftëtari ("The Fighter"), Vullnetari ("The Volunteer") and Drita ("The Light"). In August 1990, Marinaj's anti-communist, satirical poem entitled Horses (Albanian original title: Kuajt ) was published. As he was aware of his imminent arrest by the Sigurimi State Security , he fled through the mountains to Yugoslavia at night on September 12, 1990 . “Having seen other poets hanged in the center of town for making similar remarks about freedom and liberation, Marinaj knew he had to leave the country immediately. He packed some of his favorite books, told his friends and family that he was going on vacation, and began an eight-hour hike over the mountains to Yugoslavia. "

Two weeks after his arrival in Podgorica (now Montenegro ) he was brought to Serbia , where he lived for a few months in Padinska Skela , a refugee camp near Belgrade . He later ended up at Hotel Avala , a former tourist resort that had been converted into a refugee camp by the United Nations . He worked as an electrician in telecommunications and learned Serbian in his spare time .

After a few months he was able to leave for the United States . After living in San Diego in July 1991 , he moved on to Richardson , Texas six months later . While building his new life in the United States, Marinaj worked as a freelance journalist for the Albanian media. His works include interviews with President George HW Bush , Shimon Peres , and the footballer Pelé .

In 2001 Marinaj founded the Association of Albanian-American Writers and served as its president until 2009.

In addition to his education in Albania, Marinaj received his Associates Degree in Science from Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch in 2001 . He continued his studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he received his Magna cum laude bachelor's degree in literature in 2006 and his master's degree in the same subject in 2008. Three years later he was certified for his Holocaust studies by the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies .

In 2012 the University of Texas at Dallas awarded Marinaj a PhD for his dissertation entitled "Oral Poetry in Albanian and Other Balkan Cultures: Translating the Labyrinths of Untranslatability". In it he deals with the history and philosophy of orally transmitted poetry in the Balkans and translation theory.

Marinaj has been teaching English and communication studies at Richland College since 2001.

Works

Marinaj has published various works in the fields of poetry, journalism and literary criticism. His three anthologies of poems are Mos më ik larg (Do not leave me), Infinit (Infinite) and Lutje në ditën e tetë të javës (prayer on the eighth day of the week). He also has a book with interviews with various authors called Ana tjetër e pasqyrës (The Other Side of the Mirror), a book with selected articles and short stories called Ca gjëra nuk mund të mbeten sekret (Some things cannot be kept secret) and a literary critical book with the title Protonizmi: nga teoria në practice (Protonism: From theory to practice) published.

"Horses"

Marinaj's poem entitled "Horses" was published on August 19, 1990 in the Albanian newspaper Drita . The satirical commentary is not about horses, but about the social and political conditions and the Albanians who were rounded up and imprisoned by the oppressive communist leadership. The publication of the poem led to surprising reactions both nationally and internationally. “During the morning all copies of Drita were sold out across the country, but word of mouth continued to spread rapidly. Those who managed to get hold of a sheet of paper copied the text onto scraps of paper and passed it on to strangers. Others recited the poem Passers-by in the Street. The whole country was completely excited by the text of the young, unknown author. "

Marinaj's words were “inspiration for freedom and helped defeat communism in Albania.” Months later, demonstrators sang the poem during anti-government protests.

Protonism theory

According to the Dallas Morning News , Marinaj's protonism theory seeks to promote peace and positive thinking through literary criticism. The theory of protonism is based on the idea that there are strong and weak points in any literary work, but that a critic's personal interests and inclinations can influence how much focus is placed on each of those points. Marinaj founded the protonism theory in 2005 in response to the flood of overly negative criticism within Eastern European academic circles following the collapse of communism. His response to this was to develop protonism to provide a common ground that would allow critics to analyze a literary work from a more objective standpoint. Protonism follows five central principles: truth, research, restitution, protonismiotics and ethics.

Translations

Marinaj worked as a guest editor for Translation Review and has translated several English-language books into Albanian and two from Albanian into English. These translations include a collection of oral Albanian hero poetry (with Frederick Turner). In addition, he has revised more than a dozen books in both languages.

Appreciation

Marinaj is the recipient of the Pjetër Arbnori Literature Prize 2008, which is awarded by the International Cultural Center, a department of the Albanian Ministry of Culture.

In 2011 he received the Albanian BookerMan Prize for Literature from the National Media Group Tirana.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shin Yu Pai: Editor's Note. Locuspoint, July 21, 2007, accessed August 5, 2013 .
  2. ^ A b c Lindsey Bever: Power of a poem. (PDF; 2.8 MB) Neighborgo, May 4, 2012, accessed on February 5, 2013 .
  3. ^ Justin Stock: Albanian-Americans Unite Through Love of the Written Word. StamfordPatch, January 18, 2011, accessed August 5, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Biography. In: Marinaj.info. Retrieved August 5, 2013 .
  5. ^ A b c Gary Montgomery: Gjekë Marinaj Public Profile. In: ALTA. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012 ; accessed on February 5, 2013 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Brent Flynn: Albanian writers recognize 2 from UTD for translating poet. The Dallas Morning News, August 18, 2005, accessed February 5, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Shefqet Dibrani: Sfidat e intelektualit. Bota Sot, December 15, 2003, accessed April 18, 2012 (Albanian).
  8. ↑ Published Works. In: marinaj.info. Retrieved August 5, 2013 .
  9. ↑ a b News Note. (No longer available online.) Brookhaven College, February 10, 2011, archived from the original on July 24, 2012 ; Retrieved August 5, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.brookhavencollege.edu
  10. ↑ UTD media: Doctoral degrees awarded by UT Dallas. UTD, December 6, 2012, accessed August 5, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Jenni Gilmer: This week's RLC update - Marinaj awarded literature prize. Richland College - Media & Newsroom, January 16, 2009, accessed August 5, 2013 .
  12. ↑ a b c Eric Nicholson: Award carries poetic justice. (PDF; 263 kB) UTD Mercury, February 28, 2010, accessed February 5, 2013 .
  13. ^ Eva Dore: Fenomeni "Gjekë Marinaj". Shqip, November 11, 2011, accessed February 5, 2013 (Albanian).
  14. ↑ Marius Dobrescu: Afinitatile culturale dintre popoarele noastre sunt unice in Europe. Interviu cu scriitorul albanez Gjekë Marinaj (Dallas, Texas). Prietenul Albanezului, August 2012, accessed August 5, 2013 (Romanian).
  15. ↑ Afrim A. Rexhepi: Haiku and the theory of Protonism. (PDF; 2.9 MB) Spektar, December 2012, accessed on August 5, 2013 (mz).
  16. ^ Preç Zogaj: Teoria që sheh bardhë dhe lart. Mapo, December 3, 2012, accessed August 5, 2013 (Albanian).
  17. ↑ Guest Editor. Translation Review, 2008, accessed August 5, 2013 .
  18. ^ Professor and Student Cross the Balkans for Poetry. The University of Texas at Dallas, June 23, 2011; accessed April 17, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Marinaj, Gjekë
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Albanian writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 26, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Brrut, Albania