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Informationen zum Autor Gjergj Fishta (1871-1940) was the greatest and most influential figure of Albanian literature in the first half of the twentieth century. Lauded and celebrated up until the Second World War as the 'national poet of Albania' and as the 'Albanian Homer,' he was to fall into sudden oblivion when the communists took power in November 1944. He is the author of thirty-seven literary publications, including, most notably, the long-banned national epic "The Highland Lute." Robert Elsie is a leading specialist in Albanian affairs and is author of numerous books, including Albanian Literature: A Short History (I.B.Tauris and the Centre for Albanian Studies) and Early Albania: A Reader of Historical Texts, Songs of the Frontier Warriors, with Janice Mathie-Heck, Historical Dictionary of Albania, and Historical Dictionary of Kosova. Klappentext The most powerful and effective epic to have been written in Albanian for which no English translation exists. This is a unique resource for students and scholars of Balkan studies and comparative literature. Enormously popular when it appeared in the 1920s and 30s, "The Highland Lute" captivated the country with its vivid, archetypal characters and panoramic descriptions: the backdrop to Albania's historical battles for freedom and independence from the Turks and Montenegrins. It propelled its author, Gjergj Fishta, to universal recognition as the national poet of Albania until the Communists took power in 1944. On its first public recital in post-Communist Albania, 45 years later, many in the audience still knew parts by heart. Robert Elsie's masterful new translation, the first to appear in English, captures the spirit of the original and, accompanied by a new critical introduction, will introduce the poem to a new generation of admirers. Vorwort A translation of a powerful and influential epic written in Albanian. An epic book, it captivated Albania with its vivid, archetypal characters and panoramic descriptions that were a backdrop to Albania's historical battles for freedom and independence from the Turks and Montenegrins. Zusammenfassung The most powerful and effective epic to have been written in Albanian for which no English translation exists. This is a unique resource for students and scholars of Balkan studies and comparative literature. Enormously popular when it appeared in the 1920s and 30s, "The Highland Lute" captivated the country with its vivid, archetypal characters and panoramic descriptions: the backdrop to Albania's historical battles for freedom and independence from the Turks and Montenegrins. It propelled its author, Gjergj Fishta, to universal recognition as the national poet of Albania until the Communists took power in 1944. On its first public recital in post-Communist Albania, 45 years later, many in the audience still knew parts by heart. Robert Elsie's masterful new translation, the first to appear in English, captures the spirit of the original and, accompanied by a new critical introduction, will introduce the poem to a new generation of admirers....
