A promise that became light

By Albert Vataj

Aida Shkreli Milot, the poet’s daughter, has shared on her Facebook profile what is more than an act of thanksgiving: it is a testimony of empathy, dedication and fulfillment of a moral and spiritual debt to her father’s memory and literary heritage, Azem Shkreli. Through this deep and deeply felt confession, it unfolds an inherent dimension of the creative act and the mission of one who writes not just to say something, but to survive in the saying.
Aida Shkreli begins the text with a reflection that carries an existential weight on the nature of creation. She says the Creator writes to be himself, not by an external ambition, but by an inner necessity, an invincible impulse that makes creating a lifestyle and spiritual and intellectual fulfillment. In these words, it is not only the description of a creative process, but also a light on Azem Shkreli’s soul: a creator who does not negotiate with the compromise, who feels the weight of speech and responsibility to the reader.

The most painful and illuminating part of the testimony is when Aida confesses that in a writing sheet found after his father’s death, he wrote:
« Even today I brought with my new book birds and stones under armpits, and I found no publisher. Some have grown up, they ask for it to pray. First I don’t like it, the second I can’t. »
This confession tells of the poet’s humility and pride, of the rejection of a compromise that would run counter to his integrity. The absence of a publisher is not only a practical obstacle, but a symbol of misunderstanding, of disregard that art often encounters in society. And yet, he is published shortly after his death, perhaps as a delayed clearness of the missing value as long as he is alive, but that cannot be forgotten when the spirit stops.
Another impressive detail is the poem « Today I cried for you Arberia … », found in the poet’s jacket when he passed away. It is like a poetic testament, as a last cries of pain for Arberia wounded in the dark May 1997, when Kosovo was under Serbian yoke and Albania in collapse. That poetry, found on a piece of squeezed paper, is more than one verse: it is the poet of the poet who continues to speak even when the body is silent.
Aida Shkreli sees reprint of his father’s work not only as an editorial initiative, but as a concluding act, a healing of the wound left by the lack of his voice in the public and literary sphere. The support of the institutions, especially the Ministry of Culture and the preparatory for publication, such as Anton Nike Berisha and Nazmi Rrahmani, is emphasized with sincere gratitude. It also appreciates the emotion that has accompanied the interest in the republished work in Kosovo and Albania, with regretfully emphasizing the lack of proper distribution, a fact that it experiences as a failure, not because of the lack of love or dedication, but because of the restrictions that still link the souls of our culture.
A work that is reprinted after a decade of silence comes as a mission fulfilled by the family, in order to circulate the word of one who does not pray to anyone but always spoke with the voice of truth. Donating books to the National Library and other libraries is a noble gesture and a symbolic act that turns the poet’s word into a permanent eco in his country.
In the end, Aida also mentions two friends of the poet, Naime Beqiraj and Riza Krasniqi, as those who « remained faithfully and eternally friends of the poet ». This sentence concludes with a deep human and emotional tone posting, once again shifting attention from the book to man, Azem Shkreli, the beloved creator and friend who did not write to pray, but to stand in the face of time.
This text is a testament to the love and debt that remains life in the face of those who illuminated with words. Through Aida Shkreli’s words, we not only touch on Azem Shkreli’s soul, but we also take with us the responsibility not to forget his voice. It is a dignified representation of man and the poet, who reminds us that the written word does not die, but expects someone to find, reprint, and give it to the world again.