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By:
Besarte Elshani
- April 13, 2026 08:00 am
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In celebration of World Book and Copyright Day on April 23, the presentation of the novel “Little Red Riding Hood – A Fairy Tale for Adults” by writer and professor of literature, Ag Apolloni, is one of the events on the agenda of Harvard University. The educational institution, which is listed in the top five of the best universities in the world, by giving space to literature from Kosovo, proves its penetration into the largest academic centers of the world.
True stories are mainly the basis for the works of the writer Ag Apolloni. In the novel "Little Red Riding Hood - A Tale for Adults" the thematic axis is sexual violence during the recent war in Kosovo. The work, which has been in the hands of Albanian readers since November 2022, is now presented to the American reader.
In celebration of World Book and Copyright Day on April 23, the presentation of the novel by the writer and professor of literature is one of the events on the agenda of Harvard University. The educational institution, which is listed in the top five of the best universities in the world, by giving space to literature from Kosovo, proves its penetration into the largest academic centers of the world.
In this context, the author himself sees this event as a broad appreciation for the Albanian language and literature. Emphasizing the importance of this moment, he stated that this promotion is not only personal, but representative of the entire cultural scene of the country.
"Undoubtedly, this is an honor given to Albanian literature and for this I am grateful. Harvard leads today's discussion on world literature and the fate of small language literatures, so promotion there is a form of integration into the map of world literature," writer Apolloni told KOHĘN.
In one of the university’s classes, a course titled “Grimm’s Fairy Tales: Echoes of the Past, Reflections of the Present,” taught by Russian professor Ekaterina Pirozhenko, raises enduring questions, or addresses an urgent problem. Pirozhenko said her course asks this question: What do fairy tales reveal about universal human experiences, such as birth, love, jealousy, discrimination, dreams, growth, resilience, and empowerment?
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"My students deal with a wide range of Grimm's fairy tales, but also with their predecessors and the school literature written about these fairy tales. They are also introduced to retellings, various versions and adaptations," said Ekaterina Pirozhenko, lecturer in the Department of Languages and Literatures of German-Speaking Peoples.
Professor Apolloni has been invited to lecture for a semester at Harvard University in Massachusetts, United States of America. Pirozhenko met her at the closing party of the winter semester, at the end of last year, organized by the department where she is engaged as well as by the Department of Comparative Literature within which Apolloni was engaged. Thus, there she had come across the book of the writer from Kosovo, knowing that she would be lecturing a course on fairy tales.
"I read the book, I liked it, and I thought it fit very well with the program and objectives of my course. Then, when I met Agu at that party, I told him that, if it was okay with him, I would give my students a few chapters from his book to read, and maybe he could visit our class to discuss the book and answer their questions," Pirozhenko said in a conversation with KOHĪN.
According to her, the novel has a cyclical nature. Apollon's "Little Red Riding Hood..." is the first Albanian work that Pirozhenko has read.
"This is the first text by an Albanian author that I have read in my life. I know it is translated, but for me it was very interesting to notice Agu's mastery, because I am very familiar with the studies to which he refers. It was interesting to see how he builds his version of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and how he connects it not only with the historical context, but also, in my opinion, with autobiographical elements," she said, saying that the writer refers to the scholars that her students have read during the semester.
"As he himself writes, I believe in the second or third chapter, when the young actress goes to the so-called 'Lone Wolf's Cave', he refers to the anthology of classic fairy tales published by Maria Tatar. Maria Tatar is a professor emerita, who has also lectured on fairy tales at Harvard," she said.
At an institution that has been the epicenter of critical thought, literary studies, and debate over the world’s opus for decades, the presence of a work from Kosovo is seen as a kind of symbolic act of cultural recognition. Founded in 1636, Harvard is considered the oldest university in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world, with a strong tradition in the study of comparative literature and so-called “small” cultures.
This integration takes on an even more significant dimension when considering the content of the novel. “Little Red Riding Hood – A Tale for Adults” is not simply a reinterpretation of a well-known fairy tale, but a powerful combination of fiction and documentary, where the theme of rape during the recent war in Kosovo is placed at the center. Through a binary structure, the novel builds two parallel lines – that of love and that of violence – creating a strong emotional and ethical tension.
The very choice of this work to be discussed at Harvard, which has a global horizon, is also related to the academic interests of the event organizers. Explaining this, Apolloni emphasized that the selection is not random, but is related to a scholarly approach to folklore.
"I think the reason for choosing this novel is related to the field of specialization of the organizer - Professor Pirozhenko - who teaches a course on folklore, including fairy tales, at this university. My novel is seen as a re-actualization of the most famous fairy tale through the grafting of a fictional-documentary narrative on the origin, forms and consequences of rape", Apolloni said.
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As Harvard University writes about Russian Ekaterina Pirozhenko, her research includes fairy tales and contemporary German-language writers with an international background, among other things. At the prestigious institution, she is engaged in the Department of German Language.
According to her, Apollo's book illustrates one of the main ideas of her course: the power of storytelling. And this storytelling, for her, is a way to get to know the history of the country.
"I have not been in touch with how the Albanian public has received this novel, because I do not speak Albanian. However, I would assume that it is very important for the Albanian reader, but also for a global audience, so that everyone understands what happened to Albanians. One of the themes of the novel is the crimes committed against the Albanian people, especially against women: physical violence, mutilation and rape," she said.
She revealed that one of her students is Albanian and, as she said, was very excited when she found out that the work of an Albanian writer would be at the center of the class discussion.
According to Professor Pirozhvenko, "the idea of maintaining a happy ending, even in the face of a very challenging contemporary reality. Agu weaves this powerfully into his text. It's a very rich work."
And Ag Apolloni remains one of the most important voices of his time – an author who does not shy away from difficult topics and who constantly seeks new forms to express the complexity of human experience. His work often becomes a call for reflection and aesthetic courage.
So too does the novel "Little Red Riding Hood...", which is placed in direct dialogue with the European tradition of fairy tales, starting the narrative with the classic formula "Once upon a time..." and bringing back Charles Perrault's version, only to then move the reader towards a brutal and historically documented reality.
The whole story began in 2021, when Apolloni began searching for materials about the story of a woman who was a victim of sexual violence. Since the materials were scarce and the person in question had already died, Apolloni took the trouble to write a rape story himself, but always based on real rape stories that occurred during the last war in Kosovo.
The weight of this work lies precisely in its treatment of a topic that has been silent for a long time. Based on real stories of victims of sexual violence during the war, the novel transforms into a form of artistic testimony, where literature becomes an emotional and moral archive.
Apolloni sees the event of April 23 – when the novel took place at Harvard in a symbolic but important event for the Kosovo literary scene – also as communication with the international reader.
"Of course, there will be talk about the history of the fairy tale and the real stories of rape victims in Kosovo. I think it is a novel that speaks to Albanians and at the same time speaks to readers of other nationalities," he further stated.
World Book Day is celebrated annually on April 23 by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and awareness of copyright globally. The date marks a symbolic moment for literature, honoring the deaths in 1616 of renowned authors such as William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. It has been officially celebrated since 1995 as a testament to the power of books.
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And Apollon's novel received the "Special Mention" award in the framework of the European Union Prize for Literature in December 2023. Among the author's works translated into many languages, "Little Red Riding Hood" also speaks in English, bringing it even closer to the international reader.
The promotion of the novel "Little Red Riding Hood - A Fairy Tale for Adults" at Harvard makes Kosovo part of the dialogue on the position of literary art in revealing and documenting the country's history.
