At the Faculty of Philology of the University of Tetova, the Writers’ Association “OENEUM” held poetry classes and literary ports dedicated to the diaspora writer Skender Sherifi. It is a special honor and pleasure for the University of Tetova, that had an honorary figure of Albanian culture present in his audience, the author Skender Sherif, one of the most popular contemporary writers, and also one of the most emblematic figures of Albanian literature. Names like our esteemed writer have also stood out in the international arena, elevating the name of our nation in front of the civilized nations.
Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti, who emphasized that the creators, albanologists, translators, remain the best ambassadors of the representation of cultural values, building with their work and work bridges of communication between peoples, as a precious asset for humanity, regardless of linguistic, political and other restrictions. Gilles-Louis René Deleuze, the famous French philosopher, who from the 1950s until his death in 1995, who wrote about philosophy, literature, film and visual art, said that “Literature goes in a completely opposite way and exists only when it opens/appears behind the concrete personalities, the formless force – which is universal, and to an even greater degree – reveals the individuality”. I think that this opinion of Deleuze expresses in the best way the proper name, namely the literary portrait of Skender Sherifi in the pantheon of Albanian letters. Through our poets and writers, the panorama of Albanian literature, except in the Albanian areas, is admired even more widely, and the need for representation in a world that is clearly moving towards globalization, is clearly intensified and invites us to notice that literature and culture itself acquire new connotations, especially for countries with cultural, social, political disputes, etc. Literature is part of the history of the people, it is an enterprise to perpetuate the history of a nation. The extent of Albanian literature in the world and its translation into foreign languages, the albanologist Robert Elsie dedicates to the writers of the diaspora, who according to him have made an important contribution in the field of writings and publications to keep burning the flame of the candle of Albanian culture in the responsible countries of the globe”- said the Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti.
In the following of his speech, the Rector emphasized that democratic societies and their institutions, the writers, or the intelligentsia of the time in general, as well as in their works, see the future of new generations and social development. “Our university is open to cooperation with respected institutions and personalities who have proven themselves in certain fields. Only by cooperating, we will honor, our friends, our intellectual, human and spiritual values of the time we live in, but also of our continuity in the future. I would like to close my speech with the precious opinion of the American Nobel laureate Ezra Pound, who said: ” If a nation’s literature declines, the nation atrophies and decays“, so let’s support our creators in their creativity for today and the future of our culture”, – said the Rector of the University of Tetova, Prof. Dr. Kushtrim Ahmeti.
The professor of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Salajdin Salihu presented the biography of the well-known writer Skender Sherifi. “Mr. Sherifi has a very attractive biography and an amazing and deep creativity. I have known Skender Sherifi as a poet in the books ” “Game and counter game”, and “Oxygen” published by Rilindja, Prishtina. They were books with sensitivity and poetic discourse, different from other books that were published in Kosovo, Albania, but also in the area of South-Eastern Europe. I knew about the author that he lived and created in Belgium, that he was the author of poetry books in French and Albanian, which were published in Brussels and Paris, and later were published in Prishtina and Tirana. Later, I learned that he was born in Kosovo, originally from Tropoja, that his father, an officer of King Zog, was a political prisoner from the communist regime, and his mother was Albanian from Vuthaj in Montenegro. His family immigrated to Brussels with political refugee status when he was 1 year old. He graduated in French language and literature, he worked on the radio and conducted interviews with well-known European personalities of film, theater, painting and music; after 1992, he worked as a professor of public relations in communication sciences at the “International” University in Brussels and a professor of the French language and civic education in secondary schools in Francophone Belgium”,- said, among other things, the professor of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Salajdin Salihu.
In this event, about the work of the writer Skender Sherifi spoke the Chairman of the Writers’ Association “OENEUM”, Daim Ilazi, and the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Berton Sulejmani. While the writer Skender Sherifi talked with the students, by answering their questions about his life, his creative activity and the general activities that he carries out in the diaspora.
