Gjekë Marinaj
[2] Currently living in the United States, he was the first president of the Society of Albanian-American Writers,[3] established in 2001[2][4] and has published several books of poetry, prose and literary criticism.[5] In 2008, Marinaj was awarded the Pjetër Arbnori Prize for literature by QNK, part of the Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports of Albania.[23] What at first glance read like a simple poem about farm animals was actually a satirical social and political commentary about the Albanian people being herded and corralled by an oppressive communist regime."[28] Nevertheless, "having seen other poets hanged in the city's center for voicing similar notions of freedom and liberty, Marinaj knew that he had to leave the country immediately; he packed a few of his favorite books, told his friends and family that he was going on vacation, and set off on an eight-hour hike over the mountains and into Yugoslavia.He continued his education at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor's in literary studies, followed by a master's degree in the same subject in 2008.[35] Marinaj formulated Protonism Theory in 2005 as a response to the flood of unduly negative criticism in East European academia following the collapse of communism.Protismiotics combines Protonism and semiotics as a means of discovering whether a negative assessment of a work represents an attack on the author or an unprofessional critique.[69][70][71] Marinaj has maintained inclusive professional collaborations with writers and cultural figures from these and other countries around the world, such as China,[72][73][74][75][76][77] Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan,[78][79][80] Laos, Colombia,[81][82] Russia,[83]Cuba[84][85] Montenegro,[86] and Ethiopia.[101][102][103] As a professor, Dr. Marinaj oversees doctoral dissertations for multiple universities worldwide, and is currently actively serving at the National University of Uzbekistan,[104] Shanghai Normal University,[105] and The National University of Colombia[106] Marinaj has published numerous books of poetry, journalism and literary criticism in many countries and languages.The Ofi Press Magazine His poetry collections include Mos më ik larg[107] (Do Not Depart From Me), Infinit[108] (Infinite), and Lutje në ditën e tetë të javës[109] (Prayer on the Eighth Day of the Week),[110][111] Prizonierul Absentei[112] (Prisoner of Absence), Dolazim da pozelenim[113] (I Come to Leaf Out), Nhung hy Vong Trong suot[114] (Translucent Hopes), Nhung Cay Lieu Ri Mau[115] (Bleeding Willows), Sevginin 24 Saati [116][117](24 Hours of Love), 46 Sahifa[118] (Page 46), Schizzi D’immaginazione[119] (Sketches in Imagination), ການສາລະພາບຂອງທະເລ (Confessions of the Sea), Humanizing Venus, 대서양 연안에서 네루다와 함께[120] (With Neruda on the Atlantic Shore), An Ell Above the Clouds, The Paradigm of Paradise,[121] Teach Me How to Whisper: Horses and Other Poems and Desert of Oblivion.[27] He has also translated two books from Vietnamese to Albanian:[134] Vowels in the Dew, selected poems by Mai Văn Phấn;[135][136] and Ho Chi Minh's Chess Lessons: Poetry from the Prison Diary.[137][138][139][140] Marinaj received the Pjetër Arbnori Prize for literature from QNK, part of the Albanian Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports, in 2008.New York, London: Adriatic Press, 2007) and Dr. Ramesh Mukhopadhyaya's Hidden in the Light of Thought: 22 of Gjeke Marinaj’s Poems Decoded (Oklahoma: Orpheus Texts, 2019).
Malësi e Madhe DistrictAlbaniaDallas CollegeUniversity of Texas at DallasPoetryLiterary TheoryPhilosophyAlbanian–Americanliterary criticPjetër ArbnoriMinistry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and SportsSouth KoreaChangwonShkodëranti-communistAlbanianYugoslaviaSan DiegoRichardson, TexasGeorge Herbert Walker BushShimon Peresmagna cum laudebachelorHolocaustdissertationoral poetryBalkanstranslation theoryBalkanThe Dallas Morning Newsliterary criticismTiranaMinistry of Education of the People's Republic of ChinaDankook UniversityFrederick TurnerEastern BlocSerbiaCroatiaMontenegroKosovoRomaniaVietnamMexicoIrelandUnited KingdomAzerbaijanUzbekistanRussiaEthiopiaKolkataOhio UniversityClayton, OklahomaNational University of UzbekistanShanghai Normal UniversityThe National University of ColombiaVietnam WarMai Văn PhấnHo Chi MinhVietnam Writers' AssociationWest BengalNobel Prize in LiteratureIsmail KadareInternational Booker PrizeUniversity of TexasRichland CollegeSyracuse University PressAlbanian literatureAlbanian languageList of Albanian writersAlbanian folkloreHistory of AlbaniaAlbanian National AwakeningAlbanologyFrang BardhiZenel BastariConstantine of BeratPjetër BogdaniPjetër BudiGjon BuzukuJulije BalovićNicola ChettaNikollë FiljaNezim FrakullaDalip FrashëriShahin FrashëriTahir Efendi GjakovaHasan Zyko KamberiHaxhi Ymer KashariLuca MatrangaBranko MerxhaniEtëhem Bey MollajSulejman NaibiGiuseppe Schirò (archbishop)Tahir SkënderasiGiulio VaribobaMuçi ZadeAli AsllaniAndon Zako ÇajupiGabriele DaraSpiro DineAsdreniGjergj FishtaKristo FloqiNaim FrashëriSami FrashëriMihal GramenoLuigj GurakuqiMilto Sotir GurraJolanda KodraMusine KokalariErnest KoliqiFaik KonitzaLoni LogoriMigjeniNdre MjedaPapa Kristo NegovaniNdoc NikajFan NoliFoqion PostoliGirolamo de RadaFrancesco Antonio SantoriGiuseppe SchiròGiuseppe SerembeLazër ShantojaFilip ShirokaStefan Shundi