CHALLENGING THE MEASURING OF WORD
By
J e t o n K e l m e n d i
Poetry
Jeton Kelmendi Translated by Fredi Proko
Title of the book CHALLENGING THE MEASURING OF WORD
Biography:
The poet Jeton KELMENDI was born in Pejë (Kosovo) in 1978.
He completed his primary and secondary education in his hometown. He obtained a degree in journalism from the University of Pristina and is presently completing post-graduate studies in international politics and security issues at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. In parallel with his studies Jeton Kelmendi continues to write and publish numerous poetry compilations. He also collaborates in several media, both foreign and Albanian, dealing mainly with cultural and political topics.
Kelmendi has acquired a large public following, due to his first poetical work "Century of promises", which was published in 1999 and became a great success. His poetry is translated into 22 languages and is published in many anthologies.
He is a member of numerous international poetry clubs.
He is a UCK war veteran who fought for the independence of Kosovo (1998-1999)
Presently Kelmendi lives and works in Brussels.
Works of the author :
Poetry :
Century
of promises, Rilidja, Prisjhtinë,1999
Beyond the silence, Faik
Konica, Prishtinë, 2002
Perhaps halfway through the day, Faik
Konica, Prishtinë, 2004
Give me a small piece of the country,
Faik Konica, Prishtinë, 2005
Where do the events lead us to,
Ombra GVG,Tiranë, 2007
You come for the sound of thewind,
Globus R.,
Tiranë
2008
Time
when it will have time, Ideart, Tiranë, 2009
Drame :
Miss Word, 2007
Books published in foreign languages :
Ce mult s-au rãrit scrisorile / The letters have become so rare (choice of poems translated & published in Rumanian)
A Breath / (choice of poems translated and published in India)
International recognition :
Member of the Association of professional journalists of Europe, Brussels.
Member of the European Academy of Sciences, Art and Litterature, Paris.
Grand Prix International Solenzara for Poetry, France.
Tituj të veprave
Shekulli
i Premtimeve, 1999 (poezi)
Përtej Heshtjes, 2002
(poezi)
Në qoftë mesditë, 2004 (poezi)
Më fal
pak Atdhe, 2005 (poezi)
Ku shkojnë ardhjet 2007
(poezi)
Zonja Fjalë 2007
(dramë)
Koha kure te kete kohe 2009 (poezi)
Ce
mult s-au rãrit scrisorile /Sa
fortë janë rralluar letrat antologji personale në Gjuhën
Rumune 2007
Erdhe për
gjurmë të erës 2008 (poezi)
Breath In India
(poezi) 2009
poems
PAS ARDHJES AFTER THE COMING
And the bard replied
We know the fate
Of epic songs
Through the skull
Of the word
We enter
Together the old neighbourhood
With a knob
Of a word
And we hang it from it
Nostalgia for my gone self
From here to beyond
It will be my day
For out of the word I’ll come
Paris 2007 Paris 2007
PAS NJOHJES ONCE WE GET TO KNOW EACH-OTHER
I, a poet
You a pretty lady
Yet we didn’t connect together
What’s up
Did my chronicle
Undo your dream
Or are you in one of your moods
Talk to me about the fire without smoke
In a moment
Your coffee is waiting for us
And my trembling line
Did you get it
We will go up and down the world
We can do more than you
would think, together
Now, this is something given
End of September 2006 Paris
PIKA ELLIPSIS
It now emerges,
Then disappears
Gets closer
On the one side
And away
On the other
It glints scintillatingly
Keep mum
With your garrulous mouth
Create an inner world
With what you see instead
She’s got a flair for languages
Somehow
It dodges
Yet it stares you
It enters the word
And your peace disturbs
It is something
Quite something
WoluWe Brussels 2006
PËR NJË TË HËNË FOR A MONDAY
Two sounds
Of an early morning
In a room
And
The thoughts that go beyond
The event
If that lady watchful eye
Calls you
Could you possibly
Be quiet
Three elliptical dots
The first hours of Monday
And you can’t span the distance
To her
And if only the text
Written by the hand of Miss Word
Would wake you up
One step closer
You’d feel
How could we stay
Awake
Were we not together
NË VEND TË FJALËS INSTEAD OF THE WORD
Until when? in shadow
The body of your silence
You came in the wake of the wind
Nobody’s queen
Till when these plains
Be plenty of nothingness
Chance wanted us to meet
Yet all went the opposite direction
Till when we are hiding from ourselves
The unknown
A thought flashed
Instead of the word
Audergham, 9th March 2007
PAK HISTORI SOME HISTORY
There came a time
As bewildered as cheerful
No one could tell its white from its black
We could’t find ourself
We could neither see nor meet it
Or did we miss it
We were rationed to everything
Little fear
A bit of boldness
Some sorrow, and joy and so forth
Just a little of everything
It tried to convince us of what freedom means
And so on and so forth
And it devised a devil
Optimism
To keep the things suspended
And store up the time
It dyed us in red and off it went
Alas, whatever did never arrive
That’s what it owes us
June 2000, Peje Kosovo
PËR GOTËN E MERAKUT TO THE GLASS OF YEN
Drink it man
Your glass
The red wine of her
Yen
Drink headily
To the dregs
Don’t let