Category - Ismail Kadare

Discover the thoughtful and inspirational Quotes of Ismail Kadare, a philosopher and author. Our collection of his most impactful quotes reflects his deep understanding of language, philosophy, and history.
Whether seeking thought-provoking reflections or academic wisdom, Ismail Kadares words offer a rich source of intellectual inspiration. #IsmailKadare Ismail Kadare Motivational Quotes of Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

Guidebooks used to write the name of my city in two ways: Gjirokaster in Albanian, and Argyrokastron for foreigners. The classical-sounding name somehow gave it better credentials, because people in the Balkans famously exaggerate and often call their villages cities.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

It is well known that in the Communist countries, and especially in my own, Albania, readers were often called upon to demonstrate their vigilance by detecting and denouncing the ‘errors’ of authors.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

Having spent the greater part of my life under a Communist dictatorship, I am very familiar with the Bolshevik mentality according to which an author in general, and an eminent author in particular, is always guilty, and must be punished accordingly.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

I thought for a long time about leaving Albania, but at the same time to play a role in its life.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

For a writer, New York works well. Literary work is very elitist. I worked two hours a day, maximum, and the time after that was very agreeable. I walked a lot with pleasure. Those two hours augmented the day. I wrote more here than in Paris, an entire chapter of a new novel.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

We cannot deny that 80 or even 90 percent of the spiritual treasures from the past 3,000 years have come from Europe. There is no other Greek theatre anywhere else in the world. There is no other Shakespeare, Dante or Cervantes.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

If you are a serious writer or just a normal one, in one way or another, you are writing in the service of freedom. All writers know, understand, or dream that their work will be in the service of freedom.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

The great universal literature has always had a tragic relation with freedom. The Greeks renounced absolute freedom and imposed order on chaotic mythology, like a tyrant.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

For a writer, personal freedom is not so important. It is not individual freedom that guarantees the greatness of literature; otherwise, writers in democratic countries would be superior to all others. Some of the greatest writers wrote under dictatorship – Shakespeare, Cervantes.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

Literature led me to freedom, not the other way round.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

I am of the opinion that I am not a political writer, and, moreover, that as far as true literature is concerned, there actually are no political writers. I think that my writing is no more political than ancient Greek theatre. I would have become the writer I am in any political regime.

– Ismail Kadare

Ismail Kadare

Dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible… The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship.

– Ismail Kadare

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