Lasgush Poradeci

Llazar Sotir Gusho (; 27 December 189912 November 1987), commonly known by the pen name Lasgush Poradeci, was an Albanian philologist, poet, translator, writer and pioneer of modern Albanian literature. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century whose works are directly connected with Romanticism and Realism.

Born in the small town of Pogradec on the Lake of Ohrid, then in the Ottoman Empire, he completed his primary education at an Albanian school and his secondary education in Monastir (Bitola) and at Lycée Léonin in Athens, subsequently receiving his academic education at the universities of Bucharest and Graz. He developed and maintained close liaison with Asdreni, Ernest Koliqi, Gjergj Fishta and Mitrush Kuteli, all of whom became amongst the most outstanding Albanian writers of that time. He notably translated several major English, French, German, Italian and Russian works into Albanian.

Biography

Life and career

Lasgush Poradeci was born on 27 December 1899 in the town of Pogradec at the western coast of the Lake of Ohrid in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire, now Republic of Albania.

Poradeci voluntarily returned to Albania the following year to teach arts at a secondary school in Tirana. From 1944 to 1947, he subsequently became unemployed within a period characterised by the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Communism in Albania. He lived with his wife in Tirana on the latter's meagre salary as a teacher. After brief employment at the Institute of Science, forerunner of the University of Tirana, he translated literature for the state-owned Naim Frashëri publishing company until his retirement in 1974. He died in poverty at his home in Tirana on 12 November 1987.

Writings and publications

Lasgush Poradeci was undoubtedly fascinated by the aesthetics of nature. Visible in his poem Poradeci, he admired the environment of his beloved hometown Pogradec at the Lake of Ohrid which never ceased to fascinate and enchant him. His poetic creations are based on the four elements, earth, water, air and fire, which are the essential themes in his poetry. He further divided poetry between landscape poems, love poems and philosophical poems while all his poems are essentially meditative-philosophical.

He composed two extraordinary collections of poetry including Vallja e yjve and Ylli i zemrës both published in Romania in 1933 and 1937 respectively. His poetry is far away from being Romantic and engaging compared to the poetry of the Albanian Renaissance. It is characterised by deep thoughts, labyrinthine feelings and powerful universal ideas.

During the same period, he contributed verses to the Albanian weekly newspaper Shqipëri' e re (New Albania). Other Poradeci works include "The theological excursion of Socrates", "About to", "Kamadeva", "Ballads of Muharrem" and "Reshit Collaku". The entire work that Lasgush Poradeci made was all about Pogradec, his birthplace.

Poradeci's complete works were published in 1989.

Poradeci was also active in translating several notable international literary works into the Albanian language.