Main reading - Luljeta Lleshanaku

After more than 20 years, an Albanian voice returns to the festival! With pride, Poetry International presents the Albanian poet Luljeta Lleshanaku. Lleshanaku’s poetry is deeply rooted in the history of her country, particularly the communist past, which she does not shy away from writing about. Her work, often examining the consequences of political oppression, is marked by powerful yet subtle imagery. 

With numerous awards, including the prestigious European Prize for Literature, Lleshanaku has established herself as one of Albania's leading contemporary voices. Her poems combine personal experience with political themes, frequently exploring the search for freedom and identity. 

During this program, hosted by Jelle van Riet, immerse yourself in her world of history, memory, and resistance.

Luljeta Lleshanaku

Luljeta Lleshanaku is the current Poet Laureate of Albania (2023-2025). She is also a poet, researcher, journalist, screenwriter, and magazine editor.  

Growing up under the Stalinist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, Lleshanaku was not allowed to study at a university. After the dictatorship fell, she studied Albanian Philology and Literature at the University of Tirana and graduated with an MFA from Warren Wilson College, USA. She has been awarded fellowships at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa in 1999, as well as at the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada in 2008.  

Her poetry has been described as innovative and unique, disconnected from American and European tradition, as well as Albanian convention, reflecting the literary isolation she experienced growing up.  

Lleshanaku lives in Tirana and works as the research director at the Institute for the Studies of Communist Genocide.