Petro Marko | |
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.jpg) Marko in 1943 | |
| Born | (1913-11-25)November 25, 1913 Dhërmi,Albania |
| Died | December 27, 1991(1991-12-27) (aged 78) Tirana,Albania |
| Occupation | writer |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Notable works | Hasta La Vista (novel) Nata e Ustikës (English:Ustica night) |
| Spouse | Safolina Marko |
| Children | 2 (Jamarbër, Arianita) |
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Petro Marko (November 25, 1913 – December 27, 1991) was anAlbanian writer. His best-known novel is titledHasta La Vista and recounts his experiences as a volunteer of the Republican forces during theSpanish Civil War. Petro Marko is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Albanian prose.[1]
Petro Marko was born in 1913, inDhërmi, southern Albania. He started writing at the age of twenty and his first works were published in journals of the time with support fromErnest Koliqi his mentor. His articles would be published in periodicals asLirija,Shqipëria e Re,Bota e Re, andKoha e Re magazine since he was 20.[2] From March 1, 1936 he became the editor ofABC, a literary review which was banned by the monarchist authorities soon after,[3] following with Marko being arrested and sent to internment.[2] In August 1936 he joined theGaribaldi Battalion of the Republican forces of theSpanish Civil War along with other notable Albanians likeMehmet Shehu,Asim Vokshi, Emrush Myftari and Thimi Gogozoto.[4]
During the Spanish Civil War along withSkënder Luarasi, son ofPetro Nini Luarasi he published inMadrid the Albanian newspaperVullnëtari i Lirisë (English:Volunteer of Freedom), which was discontinued after two issues because of the military status of Madrid.[1] His best-known workHasta La Vista published inTirana in 1958 was largely influenced by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. In 1940 after being repatriated fromFrance to Albania he was arrested by theItalian army, imprisoned inBari,[2] then and sent along with 600 other prisoners toUstica, an island of theTyrrhenian Sea from 1941 to 1943,[4] finishing withRegina Coeli prison nearRome in 1944.[2]
In October 1944 he joined the forces of theAlbanian National Liberation Front as a partisan. After the war he becameeditor-in-chief of the periodicalBashkimi (English:Unity), but was arrested again in 1947 byKoçi Xoxe, Minister of Defense and was released after Xoxe's downfall in 1949.[1] Marko would be accused of giving information toAnglo-Americans during his time as editor-in-chief. His last prison time would be May 1947-May 1950.[2] Nevertheless, Marko remained an idealist andantifascist. In a letter sent to the Supreme Military Court of Albania from prison, he would state:Petro Marko is sentenced to three years and is thrown into the midst of those who he fought against, and hated. For me, this is the greatest injustice, it is a crime that takes place against me, because I am innocent and never ever, starting as early as 1932, did not bring any harm to the people.... Another of his letters sent to the Supreme Court, still while serving time in jail, he would mention that he had been tortured and forced to admit something, otherwise he would die.[2] His time in thecommunist prison would be described in hisInterview with myself: Clouds and stones (Albanian:Intervistë me vetveten: Retë dhe gurët).[5] The same book would express his feelings about his Albanian identity, considering his origins in the controversial[why?]Bregu Region, sometimes called shortly asHimara.[6]
He died in 1991, while in 2003 President of Albania,Alfred Moisiu decorated him with the medal"Honor of the Nation" (Albanian:Nderi i Kombit). In 2009 a square in Dhermi was dedicated to his memory and the ceremony was attended by Albanian Prime MinisterSali Berisha.[7] The main theater inVlorë bears his name.
Petro Marko recounts in his book 'Interview with Myself' that the Marko and Gjoni clans in Dhërmi are descended from theBua tribe.[8]
Marko's best-known works areHasta La Vista (novel) andNata e Ustikës [sq] (English:Ustica night) republished asNjë natë e dy agime (English:One Night and Two Dawns). The latter is a 380-page novel recounting the life of prisoners at the Ustica labor camp, where Petro Marko was also imprisoned.[4] Many works of Marko exhibitsurrealist motifs and patterns such as his novelQyteti i fundit [sq] (English:The Last City), portraying the end of the Italian occupation of Albania.
In 1964 a 204-page collection of tales he wrote in his early active years from 1933 to 1937 titledRrugë pa rrugë (English:Directionless Road) was published. Petro Marko. In 1973 his novelNjë emër në katër rrugë [sq] (English:A Name at the crossroads) set in the monarchist era was published. The book was immediately banned because of its content and Marko lost his publishing rights until 1982.[1]
Pra c'jemi ne ? Shqiptare! Po pse e humbem gjuhen ? Une do te them ato qe di : Pse nenat plaka, gjyshet dhe gjyshet dine me mire shqipen se greqishten? Pse qajme e kendojme ne shqip ? Pse fjalet e urta i themi ne shqip ? Sic duket qe nga viti 1820 e tehu, greqizimi u be me qellim politik nga vete Greqia...[So what are we? Albanians! But why did we lost our language? I will tell what I know: Why our mothers and grandmothers know better Albanian than Greek? Why do we sing and mourn in Albanian? Why our proverbs are in Albanian? It appears that since 1820, Hellenization became a political objective from Greece itself...]
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