Ali Asllani, a poet, passed away in Tirana. He was born in Vlorë in 1882, into a family originally from the village of Vajzë. He received his primary education in his hometown, attended the “Zosimea” high school in Ioannina, and pursued higher studies in Istanbul at the Institute of Administrative, Political, and Social Sciences. After graduating in 1906, he dedicated himself to an administrative career, initially in the Ottoman administration and later, after November 28, 1912, in the service of the Albanian state. He served as mayor of Vlorë from 1918 to 1920 and later from 1934 to 1939. He also contributed to diplomatic services as consul in Trieste, Sofia, and later as a minister plenipotentiary in Greece. After liberation, he was one of the founders of the Writers’ League. He worked as a translator for several years. Ali Asllani initially began to compose poetry in Turkish (while in Ioannina). Later, he also wrote love and heroism poems in Albanian. Since 1914, he wrote patriotic poetry with a liberating spirit, echoing the tones of the Labë songs. He published some of these poems “Dasma” (“The wedding”), “Fshati Vajzë” (“Vajzë village”), “Gjoni“, “Flamuri” (“The flag”), “Ismail Qemali“, etc in Albanian periodicals. His love poems are characterized by a subtle, healthy humor “Zonja Lu” (“Mrs. Lu”) and a playful spirit in facing feminine charms “Gugu-gugu-guguftu“, “Vishet meni, zhvishet vasha” etc. His most famous work in Albanian literature is the poem “Hanko Halla” (“Aunt Hanko”) (Tirana, 1942). It was eagerly anticipated by readers not only for its original themes but also for its humor and the freshness of its verses and vivid imagery. The poem deals with the collision of the old patriarchal world with the new, modern one. It was praised for the artistic character portrayal of Hanko Halla and the folkloric style of narration. (In the photo: Ali Asllani)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 136.
Photo: © https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Asllani
Graphic processing: AHCF
