Esteemed academician Rexhep Qosja passed away this Thursday. He was buried today in the presence of a close family circle, fulfilling his last wishes. In an official announcement, the family stated that there will be no reception ceremony organized by the family, nor will they participate in any organized events.
Academician Rexhep Qosja was born in 1936 in Vuthaj, Montenegro. He completed the first four grades of primary school in Vuthaj and his half-matura in Guci. In 1959, he finished the Normal School in Prishtina, and in 1960, he enrolled in the Department of Albanian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Prishtina, graduating in 1964.
In 1967, he was appointed as an assistant at the Albanological Institute of Prishtina, and during the years 1967/68, he specialized in literary science at the third-level studies at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade.
In 1969, he was elected a scientific associate of the Albanological Institute of Prishtina. In 1971, he defended his doctoral thesis on the life and work of Asdreni. After earning his doctorate in 1972, he was first elected a senior associate and then a scientific advisor at the Albanological Institute, as well as an associate professor and full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Prishtina.
He served as director of the Albanological Institute from 1972 to 1981, was the long-time head of the Department of Albanian Literature and Language at the Faculty of Philosophy, and during 1974-1975, he was the external editor-in-chief of the literary magazine "Jeta e Re."
He is the author of over thirty books on literary studies and criticism, artistic prose, short stories, novels, and dramas, as well as journalism and polemical writings. He published numerous reviews, overviews, articles, essays, treatises, and studies in scientific and literary journals, addressing specific issues of Albanian literature and literary creativity in general. Some of his works have been translated into other languages.
For his scientific and literary work, he was awarded: the Prize of the City of Prishtina in 1968; the Provincial December Prize in 1969; two prizes from the SHSH of Kosovo in 1972 and 1974; the Prize of the Socialist Republic of Serbia – "7 Korriku" in 1975; and the "Pjetër Bogdani" Award in 2010 for the novel "Bijt e askujt," among others.
He was also involved in political activities; from 1998 to 2000, he led a political party in Kosovo. In 2000, the President of the Republic of Albania awarded him the "Honor of the Nation" prize.
In 2010, the Albanological Institute of Prishtina published his complete works in 29 volumes, which in five cycles contain the following works:
Historical-literary works: Continuity, The Thinned Pantheon, From Romantic Literature to Modern Literature, The Anatomy of Culture, New Albanological Notions, History of Albanian Literature – Romanticism 1, History of Albanian Literature – Romanticism 2, History of Albanian Literature – Romanticism 3, The Great Commission, Three Ways of Albanian Writing, Semantics of Historical-Literary Changes. Literary works: Anthology of Albanian Lyric Poetry, The Repentant Resurrected One, Naked Myths, Death Comes from Such Eyes, One Love and Seven Sins, Night is Our Day, Nobody's Sons 1.
III. Historical and historical-documentary works: The Albanian Question – History and Politics, Serbian Programs for the Expulsion of Albanians, The Bloody Peace, The Shock of the Century 1, The Second Renaissance. Journalistic works: The Forbidden People, The Strategy of Albanian Unification, Mournful Speeches, Democratic Dictionary, Abused Democracy, Intellectuals, Ethics and Politics. Polemical works: The Morphology of a Campaign, The Ideology of Disintegration, The Ignored Reality, The Delayed Truths.
Works translated into other languages: