Kadare and World Literature: Bridging History, Politics, and Myth

• In Event: The Balkans and World Literature

Abstract

Ismail Kadare’s art is inherently Albanian. From the language that emerges in all of its richness and dialects in his manuscripts; to Albanian history, culture, and myth; to the unique wealth of experiences that would otherwise be unseen and unaccounted for among Western audiences. At the same time, Kadare is also an author whose writings can be connected to broader global literary trends. As I discuss in this paper, in addition to the aesthetic and intellectual reach of his writings beyond Albanian boundaries, Kadare was very intentional about inscribing himself and his works onto the canvas of world literature. Throughout his novels, Kadare explores up close the intricacies of Albanian culture but always connects them to broader cultural trends or movements. He also connects Albania to world literature in his non-fiction. In essays by Kadare that I have translated about Shakespeare, Aeschylus, and Dante, he discusses the influence of these authors on his own writing, but he also makes connections between their writings and cultural phenomena of Albanian life. Through this synthesis of the local and the global, Kadare positions Albania within a larger framework of world literature, showing that even so-called "peripheral" literatures can shape global literary conversations.

Author

• Ani Kokobobo, U of Louisiana at Lafayette