The literature of Kosovo is composed of literary texts written in Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Turkish, specifically by authors of Kosovo. Kosovo produced several prominent writers in the Ottoman era. However, Ottoman authorities banned the written use of the Albanian language until 1912. This policy continued during Serb rule until the outbreak of World War II.
After Serbia invaded Kosovo, Albanian-language schooling and publishing were suppressed. After the war, school tests were mostly in Serbian. Underground literature flourished in the late 1940s, which were written and published in Albanian. Under Aleksandar Ranković, everybody who bought the Albanian-language newspaper Rilindja was registered with the secret police. Full Albanian-language and cultural facilities were granted by the Yugoslav constitution of 1974, and Kosovo Albanian literature and culture flourished.
Serbian literature in Kosovo Kosovo, as well as Raška and Mount Athos, was the home of many pieces of early Serb literature from the 13th century onward. The most prominent Serb literary figures in Kosovo during the 20th century were novelist Vukašin Filipović, poets Darinka Jevrić, Petar Sarić and Radosav Stojanović, and short story writer Lazar Vučković.
Ottoman era During Ottoman rule, Kosovo was part of the broader Ottoman literary culture; Prizren had libraries, a medrese, schools, and a hamam. Prominent writers include: Pjetër Bogdani, the first Kosovar-Albanian writer; Celalzade Salih Çelebi, a historian; Pristinaşi Mesihi, who pioneered humorous Ottoman Turkish language poetry; Prizrenli Suzi Çelebi, who also founded an important vakıf; Aşık Çelebi, Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator. Tahir Efendi Jakova, Bejtexhinj movement poet, teacher, and religious leader
Later history Little is known in the field of literary in countries which were once part of the Soviet bloc. Strict politics and obscurantism had forbid authors to freely express their thoughts for years, and it was impossible for them to see their works published and gain prominence in the literary world. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Europe is now discovering a new interest in Eastern Europe. Not only in terms of travels and foreign relationships, but also from a cultural perspective. Kosovo certainly stands as the most peculiar nations which were formed from the dissolution of Yugoslavia. To this day, Kosovo's independence as a state is still open to debate, and the European Union has not expressed an opinion on this matter yet. With such undefined situation, one might wonder if there is a cultural voice that defines this country and the answer is not definite as well. The truth is that no one speaks of "Kosovar Literature" but it's more likely one hears of "Albanian Literature of Kosovo", because that is what it is. But despite this literature being defined through the use of the term "Albanian", it still holds a peculiarity which makes it a bit foreign to the Albanian ear. The 1990s were a particular hard time for Kosovo and in the years leading to the 1999 war, the country's dissidents could either be threatened or worse. Discrimination and the strictness of Serbian rule did not allow this generation of Albanian speaking writers to express themselves. In addition to the chaos and repression taking place in Kosovo, the country's intellectual minds had language issues to overcome: having been denied access to Albanian as a language as part of the educational system in Kosovo, barriers could then be found in literary form.
After World War II Albanian literature in Kosovo was set off by poet Esad Mekuli (1916–1993) who was the founder of the literacy periodical Jeta e Re in 1949, even though it was not active until the 1960s. In addition to that the novelist Adem Demaci, who spent twenty-eight years as a political prisoner of Yugoslavian government, also plays a huge role in the advancement of the magazine "Jeta e Re" which later was published as a book, as well as the successful collections Njifyell ndër male (1953; a flute in the mountains), and Kânga e vërrinit (1954; song of the lowland pastures) by Martin Camaj who become a leading scholar of Albanian studies at LMU Munich and the Sapienza University of Rome. In 1974, more freedom and a semblance of equality was given to Kosovo Albanians by the Yugoslav constitution for the first time, and literature bloomed on the Plain of the Blackbird in the following decade. From the several leading prose writers, some that are worth mentioning are Anton Pashku (1937–1995), Rexhep Qosja (b. 1936), notably for his explosive political novel Vdjeka më vjen prej syve të tillë (1974; death comes from such eyes), Nazmi Rrahmani who was a prolific novelist (b. 1941) and Teki Dervishi ( 1943). Kosovo's poetry has been a lot more creative and experimental compared Albania. Among its leading proponents are Din Mehmeti (1932), Besim Bokshi (b. 1932), Azem Shkreli (b. 1938), Rrahman Dedaj (1939), Ali Podrimja (1942), Eqrem Basha (1948), Sabri Hamiti (1950), and Basri Çapriqi (1960).
Dialects
There are two distinct dialects in modern Albanian. Catholic priests wrote most of the Albanian literature in Toske dialect and Gheg which is spoken in northern Albania and Kosovo. It is also spoken in Northern Albania, North Macedonia, and in parts of Montenegro. Each area of Northern Albania has its own sub-dialect: Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan and Kavajë; Krujë and Laçi; Mati, Dibra and Mirdita; Lezhë, Shkodër, Krajë, Ulqin; etc. Malësia e Madhe, Rugova, and villages scattered alongside the Adriatic Coast form the northmost sub-dialect of Albania today. There are many other sub-dialects in the region of Kosovo and in parts of southern Montenegro, and in North Macedonia. The sub-dialects of Malësia e Madhe and Dukagjini near Shkodra are being lost because the younger generations prefer to speak the sub-dialect of Shkodra. The other dialect is Tosk which is spoken in south Albania. When Albanian language was standardized in 1972, it was more based on Tosk than Gheg . The difference between these two dialects is mostly linguistic, but we have cultural factors too. Albanian can be divided into two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk. The Shkumbin river is roughly the dividing line, with Gheg spoken north of the Shkumbin and Tosk south of it. The Gheg literary language has been documented since 1462. Until the Communists took power in Albania, the standard was based on Gheg. Although the literary versions of Tosk and Gheg are mutually intelligible, many of the regional dialects are not. Nevertheless, Albanian language literature from Kosovo is mostly written in the Gheg dialect.
Prose and poetry
Poetry related to topics, such as war and the need for national freedom, was started by Esad Mekuli with the summary "Per Ty" which is considered an inspiration for many other authors. Another type of poetry is the one of Din Mehmeti and Ali Podrimja which is a form of exclamation. In addition to that, "Kurora Sonetike" which is structured by Enver Gjereqeku, also plays a huge role in Kosovo's Literature. During the 70s and 80s the most dominant kind of poetry was the one with unique poetic systems ruled by Sabri Hamiti and Musa Ramadani. Sabri Hamiti forms a system of poetic opus while Musa Ramadani forms a type of poetic book system. "Neurosis" which is a summary of poetry by Musa Ramadani deals with avant-garde visual subjects. However, another important event in Kosovo's Literature is Ali Podrimja's "Lum Lumi" which covers the whole 8th decade of the 20th century. Kosovar literature has divided prose in two lines: traditional and modern lines. Traditional is expressed in romantic spirit and the modern spirit with literary currents of European modernism. Prose takes place also in two paths: Modernist intellectual direction and social topic. Modern prose with authentic symbolic signs was founded by Anton Pashku. The modern spirit with postmodern elements was created by Rexhep Qosja and especially Musa Ramadani. Meanwhile, Hivzi Sylejmani, Nazmi Rrahmani and Zejnullah Rrahmani have worked on social topic; it is worth mentioning the "Hermetic code" prose by Zejnullah Rrahmani, Musa Ramadani, Beqir Musliu and Eqrem Basha. In this flow, Adem Demaci creates national prosaic code with "Gjaperinjt e gjakut (1958)" roman. Double coding prose was written by Rexhep Qosja "Nje dashuri dhe shtate faje", "Bijte e askujt", continuing with Musa Ramadani "Antiprocesioni", "Vrapuesja e Prizerenit" and Eqrem Basha "Lakorja e x-it", "Marshi i kermilllit".
Literary criticism
Carriers of literary criticism in Kosovo were three leaders, Rexhep Qosja, Ibrahim Rugova and Sabri Hamiti. Rexhep Qosja passes systematically literary works according to the integral method, while Ibrahim Rugova and Sabri Hamiti pass the contemporary criticism with more sophisticated methods inspired by French schools. These last two become icons of literature, criticism and literary thought for the Albanian Literacy in general.
Albanian verbal creations Verbal creations, which are often called as traditional creations, like songs, riddles, tales or other are called such because they are confessed orally and are transferred to us from mouth to mouth. These creations are divided into lyrical creations and epic creations, while the traditional poetry can be found as epic-lyrical. Usually, oral poetry is accompanied by instruments. Verbal creations were born earlier than writing creations. In fact, each traditional creation is a product of the human mind, but it adapts the environment with time. Verbal creations are created by extending and increasing wider, and while they are changed or adapted, they lose their authorship and become traditional creations.
Authors
Pjetër Bogdani
Pjetër Bogdani (c. 1630 – December 1689), known in Italian as Pietro Bogdano, is the most original writer of early literature in Albanian. He was born in Prizren. Pjetër Bogdani is considered the first Kosovar-Albanian writer. He is author of the Cuneus Prophetarum (The Band of the Prophets), 1685, the first prose work of substance written originally in Albanian Gegnisht (i.e. not a translation).
Shtjefën Gjeçovi
Shtjefën Konstantin Gjeçovi-Kryeziu (1874 – 1929) was an Albanian Catholic priest, ethnologist and folklorist. He is known for being the father of Albanians' folklore studies.
Esad Mekuli
Esad Mekuli (17 December 1916 – 6 August 1993) was an Albanian poet, critic and translator. He was the first president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. Robert Elsie considered him the father of modern Albanian poetry in Yugoslavia, and his influence in Kosovo remains immense.
Rexhep Qosja
Rexhep Qosja (born 1936) is an Albanian writer, literary critic and Professor at University of Prishtina. He has been considered the first postmodern Albanian novelist and one of the greatest Balkans literary critics. He is the first Doctor of Philological Sciences in Kosovo. Qosja is the author of various anthologies and scholarly monographs, including a three-volume history of Albanian literature in the Romantic period. He is also the author of the novel Vdekja më vjen prej syve të tillë (Death Comes to Me from Such Eyes, Pristina, 1974), translated into French, Italian, Greek, German, Dutch, Slovenian, Bulgarian and Serbian.
Ibrahim Rugova
Ibrahim Rugova (2 December 1944 – 21 January 2006) was a Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President of Kosovo from 2002 until his death in 2006. He studied literature at the University of Prishtina and the University of Paris, and received a doctorate with a dissertation on Albanian literary criticism. He spent two years (1976–1977) at the École Pratique des Hautes Études of the University of Paris, where he studied under Roland Barthes.
Ali Podrimja