[1] Kosovo, as well as Raška and Mount Athos, was the home of many pieces of early Serb literature from the 13th century onward.
The most prominent Serb literary figures in Kosovo during the 20th century were novelist Vukašin Filipović, poets Darinka Jevrić, Petar Sarić and Radosav Stojanović, and short story writer Lazar Vučković.
Strict politics and obscurantism had forbid authors to freely express their thoughts for years, and it was impossible for them to see their works published and gain prominence in the literary world.
Albanian literature in Kosovo was set off by poet Esad Mekuli (1916–1993) who was the founder of the literacy periodical Jeta e Re in 1949, even though it was not active until the 1960s.
In addition to that the novelist Adem Demaci, who spent twenty-eight years as a political prisoner of Yugoslavian government, also plays a huge role in the advancement of the magazine "Jeta e Re" which later was published as a book, as well as the successful collections Njifyell ndër male (1953; a flute in the mountains), and Kânga e vërrinit (1954; song of the lowland pastures) by Martin Camaj who become a leading scholar of Albanian studies in Munich and Rome.
In 1974, more freedom and a semblance of equality was given to Kosovo Albanians by the Yugoslav constitution for the first time, and literature bloomed on the Plain of the Blackbird in the following decade.
1936), notably for his explosive political novel Vdjeka më vjen prej syve të tillë (1974; death comes from such eyes), Nazmi Rrahmani who was a prolific novelist (b.
Catholic priests wrote most of the Albanian literature in Toske dialect and Gheg which is spoken in northern Albania and Kosovo.
Each area of Northern Albania has its own sub-dialect: Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan and Kavajë; Krujë and Laçi; Mati, Dibra and Mirdita; Lezhë, Shkodër, Krajë, Ulqin; etc.
Malësia e Madhe, Rugova, and villages scattered alongside the Adriatic Coast form the northmost sub-dialect of Albania today.
Poetry related to topics, such as war and the need for national freedom, was started by Esad Mekuli with the summary "Per Ty" which is considered an inspiration for many other authors.
During the 70s and 80s the most dominant kind of poetry was the one with unique poetic systems ruled by Sabri Hamiti and Musa Ramadani.
Double coding prose was written by Rexhep Qosja "Nje dashuri dhe shtate faje", "Bijte e askujt", continuing with Musa Ramadani "Antiprocesioni", "Vrapuesja e Prizerenit" and Eqrem Basha "Lakorja e x-it", "Marshi i kermilllit".
He is author of the Cuneus Prophetarum (The Band of the Prophets), 1685, the first prose work of substance written originally in Albanian Gegnisht (i.e. not a translation).
Robert Elsie considered him the father of modern Albanian poetry in Yugoslavia, and his influence in Kosovo remains immense.
Qosja is the author of various anthologies and scholarly monographs, including a three-volume history of Albanian literature in the Romantic period.
He is also the author of the novel Vdekja më vjen prej syve të tillë (Death Comes to Me from Such Eyes, Pristina, 1974), translated into French, Italian, Greek, German, Dutch, Slovenian, Bulgarian and Serbian.
He spent two years (1976–1977) at the École Pratique des Hautes Études of the University of Paris, where he studied under Roland Barthes.
Podrimja's collection "Ich sattle das Ross den Tod" (1991) I Saddle Death the Steed) was the very first German-language publication by a contemporary Albanian poet.
Eqrem Basha, born 1948 in Dibra, PR Macedonia, is among the most respected contemporary writers of Kosovo in recent years.
His best novels are Bardhi e Mirushja, Rrasa e zogut, Shkrepi i diellit, Lepuri me pesë këmbë, Vjollca magjike, Zogu i bardhë, Kokërrmeli e pilivesa, Gjeli në kuvertë, Xhuxhi nga xhuxhishta.
He has published the following volumes of poems for children: Gjerdani i blertë, Lejlekët në luhaja, Vallja e kallinjve, Deti u bëftë kos, Çka fshin dhelpra me bisht, Pshurrani i gjyshit, Shtegu i laureshave, Trimëritë e karkalecit, Zogu i Lasgushit.
He has also published many volumes of stories, among others: Harmonika, Përqafimet e njoma, Rrëfenjëza, Ujku me kamerë, Djaloshi i zjarreve, Elefanti që fluturonte.
His urban perception of things has given new significance to his experience of rural customs among the rugged tribes of the Rugova highlands with their traditional wisdom and way of life.
Much of his verse, a moral catharsis in words, is devoted to the oppressed peoples of the Third World, expressing a poetic solidarity with them against exploitation and suffering.
Shkreli is also the author of the short story collection Sytë e Evës, Prishtina 1965 (Eve's eyes), and the novel Karvani i bardhë, Priština 1960 (The white caravan).
He was born in Krute (Krytha) in Ulcinj Municipality (Ulqin), present-day Montenegro and studied Albanian language and literature at the University of Pristina, where later he was a professor.
She was born in the town of Skenderaj in the Drenica Valley of Kosovo, and was raised in Pristina, where she went to school and began studying medicine.
After finishing her university studies in Zagreb, where she specialized in pediatrics, she returned to Kosovo and worked for a time as a journalist for the Albanian-language daily newspaper Rilindja.
His literary works are widely acclaimed for their dramatic dimension, philosophical treatment, and critical attitude towards history, politics, and society.