Pano Taçi, an Albanian writer and poet, passed away at the “Mother Teresa” Hospital in Tirana. Born in Gjirokastër in 1928, Taçi was active as a partisan during the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War and was part of the 43rd Brigade, participating in the liberation of Kosovo from German forces in 1944. However, after the communist regime took power in 1947, Taçi was arrested on charges of attempting to cross the border into Greece, aiming to reunite with his grandfather in America. He spent two years in prison, followed by six years in internment in Lushnjë. Returning to Tirana, Taçi resumed writing but was later imprisoned again after publishing his poem “Shokut Zot,” a direct critique of Enver Hoxha. This led to a sentence in the notorious Spaç prison, and later he faced further detention for refusing to participate in elections, symbolizing his resistance against the regime. Released in 1986, Taçi was interned once again, this time to remote areas such as Peshkopi, Valias, Kavaja, and the harsh Maliq marshes, where he endured grueling labor. Despite these hardships, Taçi continued writing, eventually publishing over 13 books of poetry after the fall of communism. He was honored posthumously, with his body laid in state at the National Theatre, where friends, citizens, artists, and the President of Albania paid their respects. (In the photo: Pano Taçi)
Text: National Museum “House of Leaves,” Tirana
Photo: © https://kujto.al/personat/pano-taci/
Graphic processing: AHCF
