Jeton Kelmendi (Kosovo)

Acad. Prof. Jeton Kelmendi PhD (Kosovo)

 

Poet, player, publicist, translator, publisher, a professor of university and academic.

    Born in the city of Peja, Kosovo (1978), Jeton Kelmendi completed elementary school in his birth place. Later he continued his studies at the University of Pristina and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Mass communication. He completed his graduate studies at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, specializing in International and Security Studies. He finished his second master’s degree in diplomacy. Kelmendi did a PhD in the “Influence of media in EU Political Security Issues”. He is professor at AAB University College. He is active member of the European Academy of Science and Arts in Salzburg Austria. For many years he has written poetry, prose, essays and short stories. He is a regular contributor to many newspapers, in Albania and abroad, writing on many cultural and political topics, especially concerning international affairs. Jeton Kelmendi became well known in Kosova, after the publication of his first book entitled: “The Century of Promises” (“Shekulli i Premtimeve”), published in 1999.  Later he published a number of other books. His poems are translated in more that thirty-seven languages and published in several international Literature Anthologies. He is the most translated Albanian Poet and well known in Europe. According to a number of literary critics, Kelmendi is the genuine representative of modern Albanian poetry. International critics and poets wrote for him a lot of articles, considering him as great European poet. He is a member of many international cultural institutions, poetry clubs and is a contributor to many literary and cultural magazines, in different Languages around the world. The wisdom of his work in the field of Literature is based in the attention that he pays to the poetic expression, modern exploration of the text and the depth of the message.  His Genre is focused more on love lyrics and elliptical verse intertwined with metaphors and artistic symbolism. Currently resides and works in Brussels, Belgium and in Pristina, Kosovo.

 

 

1-     ILLYRIAN

 

Your body weight

Your air power

The speed slowdown

Are immeasurable

There are no limits to your light

Either

There is no measure of your radiance

Or

You are superlative that exceeds all dimensions

I swear to my word’s soul

You’re

A crumb of forgetfulness

Beyond the ear or the eye

For hundreds and thousands of years

You’re

A bright thought

And never

Has anybody ever been able to appraise you

My god given homeland that conferred me my name

Albanian

 

 

 

2-     HER RITES

 

After all

It’s a fresh start

And there’s no way how you can go in silence

No way leads me to you

Sooner than today

My star set

And the higher I go

The lower does the fog take me

Oh, had I experienced a genuine love

I’d dread nothing

And it’s not a bad thing to dream

 

 

3-     THE WORD SIDESTEPPED SILENCE

 

I used to keep silent

Yesterday

In order to speak a bit

I’ve inhaled sorrow’s breath

I’ve always set off

To remote regions

Towards your eyes

To you

To quietly speak to you

To tell you

About you

And me

I’ve endeavoured

To tell you

That you’re

The bread of lines

The water of the word

I for you

The most sung song

Ever

I wanted to keep silent

To scarcely speak

To become a shadow

To prevent the sun’s light

I’ve wanted

To get over

All humanity’s

Mishaps

And I’ve seen

How I could

Find myself

Closer to you

Soon or later

Yesterday

I’ve strived

To enjoy to the fullest.

---

Setu, November 2022