This giant of Albanian letters is compared in his work with the “Iliad” of the ancient Hellenic author, but also with the style of Dante and Goethe, in terms of the intertwining of mythology with reality, philosophical thought and drama.

Father Gjergj Fishta received his first lessons in the Franciscan seminary of Shkodër. He carried studies in Bosnia, in the disciplines of philosophy and theology. Fishta was the first Albanian director of the Franciscan School in 1902. Under his direction, it was made possible that the Albanian to be used in the department as a language of instruction. As a representative of the “Bashkimi” /The Union/ society, he participated in the Congress of Albanian Letters in Manastir/Bitola and in the capacity of the chairman, led the activities of the Alphabet Commission.

In 1913, he founded the literary-cultural magazine “Hylli i Dritës” /The Light Star/. During the First World War, he co-founded with Luigj Gurakuqin the Literary Commission, which aimed to create a national literary language.

During 1920, he was appointed Secretary General of the Albanian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference. That same year, he was elected member of Parliament. He participated in the June Democratic Bourgeois Revolution of 1924.

For his contribution to education, literature and religion, Fishta received the “Phoenix” decoration (1931), and became a member of the Italian Academy too (1939). The work that perpetuated his figure as a creator is the epic “Lahuta e Malcis” /The Lute of the Mountains/, to which he devoted 40 years of work.

Father Gjergj Fishta passed away in his hometown, in Shkodër, on December 30, 1940.

/a.p./