Sterjo Spasse, writer, died in Tirana. He was born in the village of Gollomboç in Prespa (Korçë), in 1914. He was born in a family of Macedonian nationality. Attended the Elbasan Normal School (1932). He worked as a teacher in Gjirokastër, Voskopojë, Korçë and Tirana; after Liberation, he worked as an inspector in the Ministry of Education, then in the League of Writers, of which he was a co-founder. In the years 1958-1960 he studied at the Institute of World Literature “Maxim Gorky” in Moscow. From the beginning of the 60s of the XX century, he was a writer in free creativity. After the sketches of the first stories published in the newspapers of the time (“Shqipëria e re“, “Rilindja“, etc.), in 1934 two collections of his stories with a mainly sentimental tendency: “Kurorë rinie“ (“Youth Crown”), “ Në krahët e një femre“ (“In the arms of a woman”); a year later, the novel “Pse?!” (“Why?!”), which was enthusiastically received by the public and critics, and in 1944, the novel “Afërdita”. In the post-liberation creativity of Sterjo Spasses, the literary model of socialist realism found strong reflexes. The novel “Ata nuk ishin vetëm“ (“They were not alone”) (1952) was appreciated for a long time as the main work of the author. In the last two decades of his life, Sterjo Spasse conceived the cycle of novels “Rilindësit“ (“The rennaisance figures”) on the theme of the Albanian National Renaissance: “Zgjimi“ (“The Awakening”) (1973), “Pishtarë“ (“Torches”) (1975), “Ja vdekje, ja liri“ (“Here is death, here is freedom”) (1978), “Kryengritësit” (“Insurgents”) (1983), “O sot, o kurrë!” (“Either today or never”) (1987). As historical novels of the classic type, these works are marked by placing historical events at the center of the narrative, in the light of which the characters, the development of the subject on several levels, the multitude of scenes, as well as the numerous ethnographic details are revealed. Co-founder of the magazine “Normalisti” (1929-1937), Sterjo Spasse also published numerous articles on pedagogy and education problems in other bodies, some of which were summarized in the volume “Reflekse pedagogjike“ (“Pedagogical Reflexes”) (1987). With his contributions to the organs “Revista letrare“ (“Literary Magazine”), “Literatura jonë“ (“Our literature”) and “Nëntori“ (“November”), in the 40s-50s of the 20th century, Sterjo Spasse played a distinct role in revitalizing the Albanian literary life. Helped in the drafting of foreign literature and Albanian literature texts for eight-year and secondary schools. (In the photo: Sterjo Spasse)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2377-2378.
Graphic processing: AHCF
