League of Writers and Artists of Albania

Among its founding members were Sejfulla Malëshova, who served as the first chairman; Fan Noli, who held the title of honorary president; and notable figures such as Lasgush Poradeci, Nonda Bulka, Skënder Luarasi, Dhimitër Shuteriqi, Ali Asllani, Mitrush Kuteli, Vinçenc Prennushi, Sterjo Spasse and Et’hem Haxhiademi.

[2] The Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary of 1985 outlines the functions of the League as follows:[3] A social organization that brings together creators from various disciplines, including writers, visual artists, composers, singers, directors and actors.

Several commissions operated within the League, focusing on areas such as poetry, prose, dramaturgy, children’s literature, literary criticism, music, and visual arts.

In the 1960s, the League targeted writers it accused of failing to fulfill their communist duty to promote socialist realism in their works, thereby advancing the objectives of the Labour Party.

Others managed to survive the regime’s oppression, such as poet Xhevahir Spahiu and writer Ismail Kadare, who later defected to France to escape the authoritarian rule.