Dritëro Agolli, poet, prose writer, publicist and politician, was born in Menkulas, Devolli district. He got his first lessons in his hometown. He continued his education in Gjirokastër and then moved to St. Petersburg, to pursue higher studies at the Faculty of Arts. Since 1973, Agolli has been the head of the League of Writers and Artists of Albania. For years, he worked as a journalist in the daily “Zëri i Popullit” (“Voice of the People”) and for several legislatures he served as a deputy. The literary creativity that he left behind includes several genres, such as: poems, stories, novels, dramas, film scripts, etc. His most notable poetic work is “Nënë Shqipëri” (“Mother Albania”)(1975), where the country’s heroic traditions are outlined. In these tones, he wrote the novel “Komisari Memo” (“Commissar Memo”)(1969), as well as a series of poems, which reflect the heroic spirit of the period of the National Liberation War. Among his satirical creations, the novel “Shkëlqimi dhe rënia e shokut Zylo” (“The fall and rise of comrade Zylo”) (1973) stands out for its undeniable literary contribution. In this chronicle of the inglorious career of an official, Agolli satirizes the bureaucrats’ schematism and conformity. He passed away in 2017, at the age of 85, after a chronic lung disease. (In the photo: Dritero Agolli)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 16-17.
Photo: © https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=782037596611154&set=a.257981645683421
Graphic processing: AHCF
