Edi M. Shukriu (22 October 1950 – January 2023) was a Kosovan political figure, archaeologist, and writer. She wrote seven books of poetry. She was awarded the Dea Dardanciae award by the Kosovan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and won the Beqir Musliu Literary Award, the Award of the Writers' Association of Kosovo, and the scientific book of the year award in 1996.

Biography

A native of

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

, Shukriu was born on 22 October 1950.She earned a master's degree in archaeology from the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

in 1972; in October 1990 she finished her doctorate in the same discipline at the

University of Pristina The University of Pristina () is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–1999) as a result of the Kosovo War. The inauguration ...

. First employed by the Kosovo Museum, she then taught archaeology in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

. In 1989 she joined the

Democratic League of Kosovo The Democratic League of Kosovo (, LDK) is the oldest and one of the largest list of political parties in Kosovo, political parties in Kosovo. History During the late 1980s, nationalism was on the rise throughout the Socialist Federal Republi ...

, in whose foreign relations she took a role. From 1995 until 2000 she chaired its women's forum, and she was also a member of the

Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Скупштина Републике Косово, Skupština Republike Kosovo) or the Kuvendi, is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Kosovo that is directly elected by the peo ...

for the party. She was chair of the Kosovo Council for Cultural Heritage from 2009 to 2012, and the vice-president of the PEN Center of Kosovo. As an archeologist, Shukriu has been called the 'founder of Dardanology". Shukriu was responsible for the discovery of the

Goddess on the Throne Goddess on the Throne (; ) is a terracotta figurine found at the site of the Tjerrtorja spinning mill in Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo, in 1956. The seated terracotta figure is a well-preserved specimen of small Neolithic plastic Vinča c ...

(Hyjnesha në Fron), a terracotta figure which has become a symbol of the culture of

Kosovo Albanians The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the Albanians, ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the ...

. She researched the fortified settlements in places such as Strezovc, Marec, Gushicë, Vucak, Godanc, Korishë, Batushë, Harilaç. Shukriu founded the Archaeological Institute of Kosovo, and was a supporter of the Opera and Ballet of Kosovo, the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Kosovo Ballet. Shukriu was awarded the “Dea Dardanciae” award by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. She also won the 2019 Beqir Musliu Literary Award, the Award of the Writers' Association of Kosovo in 1990, and the scientific book of the year award in 1996. Shukriu wrote a number of verse collections and plays, as well as several non-fiction works. Among the first Kosovar women to publish poetry in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, she graduated from the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

in 2005. She continued to teach archaeology and ancient history at the University of Pristina. Shukriu died in January 2023, at the age of 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukriu, Edi 1950 births 2023 deaths Kosovan women writers Kosovan writers Kosovan poets Kosovan women poets Kosovan dramatists and playwrights Women dramatists and playwrights Kosovan archaeologists Kosovan women archaeologists Kosovan non-fiction writers Women non-fiction writers 20th-century Serbian poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century archaeologists 20th-century non-fiction writers 20th-century women writers 21st-century poets 21st-century dramatists and playwrights 21st-century archaeologists 21st-century non-fiction writers 21st-century women writers Kosovan women in politics Members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo Democratic League of Kosovo politicians 20th-century women politicians 21st-century women politicians People from Prizren University of Belgrade alumni University of Pristina alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Academic staff of the University of Pristina Members of the Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts Kosovan women historians Participants in the Prishtina Albanological Seminar