Dritëro Agolli

Dritëro Agolli (13 October 1931 – 3 February 2017) was an Albanian poet, writer and politician. He studied in Leningrad in the Soviet Union, and wrote primarily poetry, but also short stories, essays, plays, and novels. He was head of the League of Writers and Artists of Albania from 1973 until 1992. He was a leading figure in the Albanian Communist nomenklatura. Agolli was born to an Albanian, Bektashi family in Menkulas in the Devoll District. He and his family spoke Albanian in the Tosk dialect. He finished high school in Gjirokastër in 1952. He later studied at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Leningrad and took up journalism upon his return to Albania, working for the daily newspaper Zëri i Popullit (English: The People’s Voice) for 15 years. Agolli was also a deputy in the Albanian Parliament.