Quotes by Albanian authors
For a writer, personal freedom is not so important. It is not individual freedom that guarantees the greatness of literature; otherwise, writers in democratic countries would be superior to all others. Some of the greatest writers wrote under dictatorship - Shakespeare, Cervantes.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
Guidebooks used to write the name of my city in two ways: Gjirokaster in Albanian, and Argyrokastron for foreigners. The classical-sounding name somehow gave it better credentials, because people in the Balkans famously exaggerate and often call their villages cities.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
In antiquity, there were three regions in southern Europe: Greece, Rome, and Ilyria. Albanian is the only survivor of the Ilyrian languages. That is why it has always intrigued the great linguists of the past.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
I first came across the script for 'Macbeth' between the ages of 11 and 12; it was the first book that shook my life. Because I did not yet understand that I could simply purchase it in a bookstore, I copied much of it by hand and took it home. My childhood imagination pushed me to feel like a co-author of the play.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
I work only in the morning from 10 to noon. I still write by hand. I interrupt my writing when I feel that I've discovered something beautiful or, on the contrary, when I feel discontent.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
Literature led me to freedom, not the other way round.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
I am hopeful that no one will forget what happened in Bosnia.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
We cannot deny that 80 or even 90 percent of the spiritual treasures from the past 3,000 years have come from Europe. There is no other Greek theatre anywhere else in the world. There is no other Shakespeare, Dante or Cervantes.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
That is why we wholeheartedly support the American-led effort to free the people of Iraq. And though we are a small country with a small military, we are proud to stand side by side with our allies in the fight to end the reign of terror in Baghdad.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
If I manage to write something that I consider good and valuable in a particular place, that spot automatically has a special aura for me. In Albania, there are two cities where I have written the majority of my work: Gjirokaster, my home city, and Tirana.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
Albanians are a nation of freedom fighters who know something about living under oppression.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
Albania is at risk and we are living in difficult times.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
If you are a serious writer or just a normal one, in one way or another, you are writing in the service of freedom. All writers know, understand, or dream that their work will be in the service of freedom.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
The laws of literary creation are unique; they don't change, and they are the same for everyone everywhere. I mean that you can tell a story that covers three hours of human life or three centuries - it comes to the same thing. Each writer who creates something authentic in a natural way instinctively also creates the technique that suits him.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
People didn't vote left or right in the election. They voted for putting an end to all the primitive political history.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
Dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible... The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
To see for themselves what the United States has been willing to undertake in the name of freedom. We should all visit Normandy. We should pay homage to those brave Americans who stormed ashore at Omaha Beach and gave their lives for the freedom of others.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
It is well known that in the Communist countries, and especially in my own, Albania, readers were often called upon to demonstrate their vigilance by detecting and denouncing the 'errors' of authors.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
I am of the opinion that I am not a political writer, and, moreover, that as far as true literature is concerned, there actually are no political writers. I think that my writing is no more political than ancient Greek theatre. I would have become the writer I am in any political regime.
Ismail Kadare
Albanian novelist
Thus, neither my government nor myself, personally, are without ideals and responsibilities.
Fatos Nano
Former Prime Minister of Albania
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