Most people think of poetry as sonnets and Shakespeare; as romance and respects. More often, poetry offers commentary on socio-political issues. That is how Ismail Kadaré found his works banned in Albania for several years.
Kadaré, an Albanian novelist born January 28, 1936, skillfully used poetry and prose to criticize Communist rule in his country. One of his politically satirical poems irritated authorities and he was banned from publishing for three years in the last half of the 1970s. Interestingly- and perhaps paradoxically, he served in the Albanian parliament from 1970-1982.
At that time, he was accused by the president of the League of Albanian Writers and Artists of intentionally eluding politics by concealing his fiction in history and folklore. His work referenced legends surrounding many of the historical experiences of the Albanian people and put classical myths in a modern context of the totalitarian regime. The most notable titles include The General of the Dead Army (1963), Chronicle in Stone (1971), Broken April (1980), The Palace of Dreams (1981), and The Concert (1988),
He could whimsically wrap the political satire in a way that was most evident in The Pyramid (1992), which was set in Egypt in the 26th century BCE. The dialogue mocked Hoxha’s fondness for elaborate statues and the pyramid shape was used as a symbol of a dictator’s love for hierarchy.
By 1990, Kadaré sought asylum in France and published letters calling for the democratization of his homeland. In a statement he declared that “dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship”.
Since then he has become a member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of France; awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; won the inaugural Man Booker International Prize; the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts ; and, in 2015, the Jerusalem Prize. Kadaré has been talked about as a possible recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
That is an achievement not without controversy in itself, as opinion is split on whether or not he should be considered a dissident or a conformist during his period in public office. This, specifically, relates to The Great Winter, a 1977 novel in which he portrayed Enver Hoxha in a flattering light; Kadaré noted that the book was “the price I had to pay for freedom”.
This debate on his conformity is poignantly evident in an oft-quoted line from Broken April:
“It was only a phrase that went from mouth to mouth and was never quite swallowed.”
We can chose to chew and spit out the fat of ignorance but should swallow the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Kadaré is a subversive of the highest order, for it is the safest place for a dissident to be seen in the light of day but have the mind shrouded in the dark of night; lurking and whispering in the shadows for those who can hear the call and pass it on.
Happy birthday, Ismail.
Sources: Wikipedia, Broken April
© 2016 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions
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