Albania's world-renowned novelist Ismail Kadare dies at 88
Renowned Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare has died after being rushed to a hospital in the country's capital, Tirana
By Vlasov Sulaj And Llazar Semini
Published - Jul 01, 2024, 09:20 PM ET
Last Updated - Jul 01, 2024, 09:20 PM EDT
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian novelist and poet Ismail Kadare, whose irreverent works from inside communist Albania earned him international renown and repression from the country's dictatorship, has died in Tirana, his publishing editor said Monday. He was 88.
Kadare won a number of international awards, and had long been mentioned as a possible contender for the Nobel Prize in literature.
Albanian President Bajram Begaj praised Kadare as the country's “spiritual emancipator.”
“Albania and Albanians lost their genius of letters ... the Balkans (lost) the poet of its myths, Europe and the world (lost) one of the most renowned representatives of modern literature,” Begaj said in a statement released by his office.
