Bashkim Shehu (born 22 June 1955,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

) is an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

n writer who lives in

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, Spain.

Biography

From 1975 to 1980, he studied Liberal Arts at the

University of Tirana The University of Tirana ( sq, Universiteti i Tiranës, abbreviated UT) is a public university located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in Tirana, Albania. It was established as the ''State University of Tirana'' in 1957 through merging of f ...

. Until 1981, he worked as a screenwriter at

Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re The National Center of Cinematography ( sq, Qendra Kombëtare e Kinematografisë) is the largest film distributor and film production company in the cinema of Albania connected with over 700 films (feature films and documentaries) between 1947 an ...

. At that time his father,

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist p ...

, was Albania's Prime Minister and a leading candidate to replace

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

.Interviews: CCCB assessor for Eastern Europe, Bashkim Shehu. Barceloca
/ref> This connection allowed him access to literary works that were banned by the Communist regime. His exposure to those works prompted his decision to become a writer. His first work appeared in 1977 and, until 1981, he worked as a screenwriter at

. That year, Hoxha accused his father of being a foreign agent. The elder Shehu was found dead in December and Bashkim was sentenced to ten years in prison for distributing subversive propaganda. In 1989, his sentence was reduced to eight years, but he was still kept under house arrest after his release from

Spaç Prison The Spaç Prison () was a political prison in Communist Albania at the village of Spaç. The former prison is listed as a second-category national monument. There were plans to turn the rapidly deteriorating site into a museum, but as of February ...

. His freedom was restored when the Communist government fell in 1991. He returned to his position at the Kinostudio (now "Albfilm") and remained there until 1993, when he went to Hungary to study sociology at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. Upon returning to Tirana, he became a monitor for the

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) was a self-governing group of non-governmental organizations that acted to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central Asia. A specific primary goal was to monitor ...

. In 1997, during the

Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

, he went into self-exile and settled in Barcelona, where he still resides. After ten years of being an advisor to the

Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (also known by its acronym, CCCB) is an arts centre in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated in the Raval district, the Centre’s core theme is the city and urban culture. The CCCB organizes exhi ...

, he became a freelance writer. He and his companion, Edlira Hoxholli, also translate English, Spanish and French works into Albanian.

Works

* ''Rrugëtimi i mbramë i Ago Ymerit'' (The Last Journey of Ago Ymeri), roman, Buzuku, Tirana, 1995 * ''Rrethi'' (The Circle), roman, Pristina, 2000, Tirana, 2002 * ''Orfeu në Zululandën e Re'' (Orpheus in New Zululand), roman, Tirana, 2003 * ''Udhëkryqi dhe humnerat'' (The Crossroad and the Abysses ), roman, Tirana, 2003 * ''Gjarpri dhe heronj të tjerë'' (The Serpent and Other Heroes), roman, Tirana, 2004 * ''

Angelus Novus ''Angelus Novus'' (New Angel) is a 1920 monoprint by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee, using the oil transfer method he invented. It is now in the collection of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. History The artist's friend Walter Benjamin, a n ...

'' (Angelus Novus), roman, Tirana, Toena, 2005 * ''Hija e gurit (The Stone's Shadow)'', récits, Tirana, Toena, 2006 * ''Mozart, me vonesë (Mozart with a delay)'', roman, Tirana, Toena, 2009 * ''Loja, shembja e qiellit (The Game, the Fall of the Sky)'', roman, Tirana, Toena, 2013 * ''Fjalor udhëzues për misterin e dosjeve (Guiding Dictionary on the Mystery of the Dossiers), roman, Tirana, Toena, 2015

English translations

*''The Last Journey of Ago Ymeri'' (2007)

References

AELC - Escriptors en Llengua Catalana. Bashkim Shehu, an Albanian writer. Molina, Víctor. Revista Literatures Núm. 0 1997
*Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona – Bashkim Shehu

Albanian writers Living people 1955 births Albanian translators Translators to Albanian {{Albania-bio-stub

Biography

Works

English translations

See also

References