Rexhep Qosja – the enlightener of Albanian thought and letters

"I die peacefully," he wrote in his will. But the news of his death was sensational, even though in his letter to his nephew, "How I want my funeral to be," he had been blunt: no speeches, no flowers, no official presence." Academician Rexhep Qosja died on Thursday at the age of 89. He left behind a priceless treasure as a modern-day renaissance man, an enlightener of Albanian thought and letters. "Rexhep Qosja is who he is in his works," he would say of himself.

World Book Day on Thursday did not describe Kosovo and the entire Albanian geography except with activities dedicated to the book. But also with the news that one of the most important pens of literary creativity, of literary history and criticism and one of the most important personalities of the two centuries in which he lived, passed away in silence. With full faith in science and with colossal work for cultural emancipation, as an enlightener and idealist of difficult days, academician Rexhep Qosja also wanted to say goodbye to this world: without religious, state or public ceremonies. He died on Thursday and was buried in the presence of his close family, with the order that the news be made known only after he was given a farewell in a completely private ceremony. He was 89 years old.

The news of his death quickly reached both the big and the small, and whoever had a photo of him and whoever had a memory of him, was remembered and honored in various ways. Including by those who not only argued, but also criticized him badly while alive. And his death is seen as a great loss for literature in many dimensions and intellectual thought. Above all, as the loss of the man who gave breath to the Albanian renaissance in modern times.

Born on June 25, 1936 in Vuthaj, Montenegro, he completed the Normal School in Prishtina and then studied Albanian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Prishtina. He then specialized in literary science in his third-degree studies at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade. In 1971, he defended his doctoral thesis on the life and work of Asdren.

Academician Qosja was a scientific advisor at the Institute of Albanology in Pristina, as well as a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Pristina. He was also the director of the Institute of Albanology in Pristina and a regular member of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts.

He is the author of over thirty books on literature and literary criticism, artistic prose, short stories, novels, dramas and journalism. He is, among others, a laureate of the “Pjetër Bogdani” award, the “Nderi i Kombit” decoration and the “Letërsia Shqipe” award.

also Culture April 23, 2026 Rexhep Qosja – the intellectual who spoke on behalf of the wounded people

Rexhep Qosja's creativity began in the 60s. As he himself had said, his intention as a young man was to study medicine. But since he had graduated from the Normal School of Prishtina, he was not allowed to. And fortunately for literature, Qosja, in addition to studying it, enriched it like few others with many works that touch not only on fiction, but also on Albanian identity and philosophical thought in relation to the culture of these parts.

His biography includes publications such as: “Literary Episodes” (1967), “Dialogues with Writers” (1968), “Literary Criticism” (1969), “Anthology of Albanian Lyrics” (1970), “Continuities” (1972), “Asdreni – His Life and Work” (1972), “Rare Pantheon” (1973), “Death Comes to Me from Such Eyes” (1974), “Writers and Periods” (1975), “Anatomy of Culture” (1976), “Naked Myths” (1978), “From Typology to Periodization” (1979), “Morphology of a Campaign” (1980), “New Albanological Notions” (1983), “History of Albanian Literature – Romanticism I-II-III” (1984-1985), “Historical Anthology of Albanian Literature. Poetry and Prose” (1985), “The Great Order” (1986), “The Forbidden People” (1990), “Democratic Dictionary” (1997), “The Albanian Question, History and Politics” (1998) and “Preliminary Lectures” (1998). Also listed there are “Strategy of National Unity” (1998), (Bloody Peace, International Conference on Kosovo (1999), “The Shock of the First and Second Century” (2001), “One Love and Seven Guilts” (2001), “The Resurrected Repentant, Satirical Story” (2002), “From Romantic Literature to Modern Literature – Writers and Periods” (2006), “The Ideology of Disintegration, a Treatise on Disintegrating Ideas in Today’s Albanian Society” (2006), “The Ignored Reality, Critical Look at Ismail Kadare’s Views on Albanian Identity” (2006), “Delayed Truths: Second Response to the Controversies of Ismail Kadare and His Co-thinkers” (2006), “The Second Renaissance” (2007), “The Night is Our Day” (2007) and “Nobody's Sons I, II” (2010). He has also published, among others, the volumes “Witness in Historical Time”.

In 2010, the Albanological Institute of Pristina published the complete works in 29 volumes.

The Renaissance of modern times

Rexhep Qosja, a regular member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo and an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, as a multifaceted figure, has made a great contribution to the treatment of the history of Albanian literature and the return of the spirit of the Renaissance in his approach not only to its study, but also to the emancipation of society. He is often called the last Renaissance man. Researcher Arben Hoxha, also a scientific advisor to the Albanological Institute of Pristina, said on Thursday that in such cases it is usually said that it is a great loss.

"But I would say that it would be a great loss if Rexhep Qosja himself lived a life without intellectual and creative activity. His creative activity, his colossal work, has fulfilled his life, because his life, his activity where throughout his life he has been in activity that has created broader connections, with life for the needs of the morality of knowledge and the spirit of the Albanian nation", he said. According to him, in this context his intellectual life activity has exceeded the limits of his biological existence.

"Therefore, his life is a generous life because of his creative activity. So it is a life that generates life. Otherwise, the pain would be greater in the physical sense of the word," he said. According to Hoxha, Rexhep Qosja will be among Albanians as long as the Albanian society and nation will need it to maintain continuity and moral cohesion, to preserve the ethics of scientific work and for a critical cultural awareness.

"In this sense, I can say that Rexhep Qosja did not brag about what he did."

and he was not proud. He did not want to be proud in good times because he did not want to be overthrown in difficult times,” he said. According to Hoxha, Qosja cultivated emancipatory and non-instrumental reasons.

"The error in this concept will produce errors in the historical perspective, our self is not the part, for Rexhep Qosja it was the entirety of the Albanian nation. Since the 60s he has seen Albanian literature based on the integralist paradigm", he said. In Hoxha's perspective, Qosja saw Albanian literature as a unitary concept for Albanian culture.

"So he did not create this concept, it is a reborn concept. But it has been objectified in our reality in a new context of ideological clashes between Yugoslav colonialist liberalism and class ideology in Albania. This emancipatory line, which is a doctrinal principle of the philosophy of enlightenment, he intertwines with the epistemological doctrine of critical realism. These two pillars make him maintain a critical stance and react", said Hoxha.

Qosja had no problem reacting and arguing. Even harshly. He was known for this. His polemics with different personalities and opinions are numerous. Sometimes they have even been seen as controversial. In public, one of the strongest and most meaningful polemics is the one about Albanian identity with the great writer Ismail Kadare. Writers who support each other and long-time friends, in 2006 they argued strongly. And on the occasion of Kadare's death, Qosja publicly explained that he valued him more than anyone else for enriching Albanian literature and that he had made the polemics within the framework of normal disagreements in a society where free thought is respected.

Central figure of literary critical thought

Literary creator, literary scholar and director of the National Library of Kosovo, Blerina Rogova-Gaxha, who had Qosje as a professor of aesthetics, said that he is one of the leading figures of critical literary thought in Kosovo.

"He is one of the great names of Albanian literature in general and Albanian literature in Kosovo in particular. He is one of the great names of critical literary thought in Kosovo, Albania and in all Albanian territories. His loss is great, as it is the loss of one of the most special, most complex and sometimes controversial figures not only of the writer, but also of the critic and thinker on literature", she said. According to her, Albanian society is lucky for the legacy that Qosja has left. She singled out the novel "Death Comes to Me from Such Eyes", as one of the most important contributions to modern Albanian literature. This novel, along with several other works by Qosja, have been published in several foreign languages.

Literary scholar, writer and university professor, Ag Apolloni, has written that Qosja, as an intellectual who has defended the truth throughout his life with word and deed, has decided that his death will silently fight institutional and media hypocrisy.

"The professor passed away on April 23, so he will be remembered by his readers every year on this Book Day, because (I said it when he was alive and I can repeat it now) Rexhep Qosja was not only the greatest writer of Kosovo, but also one of the greatest writers and scholars that the history of Albanian literature has known. For me, he was also the best and most beloved professor," he wrote.

Literary historian Fadil Grajçevci, who is also the acting director of the Albanological Institute, said that Qosja remains one of the most complete figures in Albanian literature. Grajçevci, who was also a friend and reader of some of his works since the manuscript, also spoke about Qosja's determination that the burial be held in a private ceremony. According to Grajçevci, this is what Qosja thought and reflected in his works.

"From the conversations we have had recently, but also from his work that leaves much to be understood, the professor did not like exaggerated language, no matter what the personality. He often saw that the deaths of personalities were misused...", he said.

"Since I have taken care to live simply, I also want to be buried simply"

Academic Qosje's grandson, Valjet Rexhepi, who also took care of him for years, has published his grandfather's will, written on a typewriter.

"Since I have lived believing in scientific thought, in spiritual upliftment and in the social progress that it makes possible, I want to be buried without religious ritual. Since I have lived and thought, for the most part of the time, expressing critical views towards rulers and their powers, I want to be buried without any official presence. I want my funeral to be held only by my family members. Since I have taken care to live simply, I also want to be buried simply: without speeches, without media, without flowers, near the grave of my wife Shpresa. I die peacefully", he would write on April 30, 2016. There, academic Qosja would write that since he dedicated his life, mental creativity and political activity to the freedom, unity and democratic well-being of the Albanian people, neither state Albania nor Kosovo, their present and future are indebted to them.

also Arberi April 24, 2026 Kosovo in mourning for Qosje's death

"If Kosovo owes me a debt - this is what future historians of Albanian literature, culture and political thought will be able to say. I do not think that I die without any sin. Since I grew up, lived and worked in political and social conditions, which even after the liberation of Kosovo and the creation of its state, were very harsh, I cannot say that my expressed disagreements were always free from some judgments and assessments that were harsher than they should have been. However, I await my burial convinced that I have lived, created and acted by doing good, preaching goodness and spreading humanity. I wrote these thoughts while being aware and clear-minded," concludes the letter signed by Qosja.

Consolidator of Albanological thought

It is publicly known that the relationship between academician Rexhep Qosje and the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo was not good in the last two decades. There have often been controversies and harsh words between the two parties, the Academy and Qosje. But ASHAK on Thursday expressed public condolences together with the Academy of Albania. And a commemorative meeting will be held on Friday.

In their public condolences, both institutions consider Qosje one of the most prominent figures of Albanian scientific, literary and national thought.

"Academician Rexhep Qosja represented an extraordinary personality of the pan-Albanian culture, a dedicated researcher, writer and intellectual with a wide influence on scientific, literary and social developments. His multidimensional activity was characterized by a critical approach, argued and supported by high academic principles, contributing in a special way to the consolidation of Albanological thought and the affirmation of the Albanian cultural and historical identity," the letter reads. According to the Academies, the legacy that Qosja left behind constitutes a precious scientific and literary value, which will remain a source of inspiration for researchers and generations to come.

"Through his intellectual and public engagement, he played an important role in defending the national cause and in building critical discourse in Albanian society. Our two academies express their gratitude and high appreciation for this indelible contribution to the development of contemporary Albanian science, culture and thought, as well as for his role in strengthening academic institutions and inter-academic cooperation in the Albanian space," the letter reads. According to these institutions, the memory, works and contribution of academician Rexhep Qosje will remain permanent in the fund of Albanian culture and science and in the collective conscience of our nation.

A commemorative meeting will also be held on Friday by the Albanological Institute of Pristina. The family has announced that they will not be expecting anyone for condolences nor will they participate in institutional events.

"The icon of Albanian thought and writing is no longer with us," is the title of the IAP's letter.

"Rexhep Qosja was an inimitable employee of the Albanological Institute and we, his current employees, are proud to have had him among us. He was our teacher, collaborator and friend who was honored and respected at every step of his scientific and intellectual journey. We will miss his valuable advice and academic guidance!", the letter reads.

The relentless researcher

The reactions of state and institutional leaders in Kosovo and Albania have been numerous. The acting president of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhi, declared a day of mourning on Friday in honor of the figure of academician Qosja. She wrote that Kosovo lost academician Rexhep Qosja, while the Albanian world lost one of its greatest personalities of critical thought, literature and study.

"In him, the literary scholar, critic, novelist, essayist, professor and public polemicist coexisted. In literary studies, he left behind a precious legacy for Albanian literature and its decisive periods. In prose, with the novel 'Death Comes to Me Through Such Eyes', he brought one of the works that expanded the boundaries of the Albanian novel, turning the experience of fear, power and oppression into literature with lasting value. In 'Secrets Told', Qosja proved that even at the end of his creative journey he remained acutely aware of time, society and the decline of values", she wrote. According to her, academic Qosja was a hero of the mind, so as such he will be a guide for generations.

"Comfort comes to us from such a life," Prime Minister Albin Kurti titled the reaction. He wrote that dozens of Rexhep Qosja's books are now gaining a different kind of reading and, of course, new readers.

"From linguistic studies and literary criticism to historical diaries, from stories and dramas to voluminous novels, they will now be able to be relived differently. And from that rereading, ours and that of future generations, the lessons and inspirations of the future will depend. It is a great fortune for a nation to have such recorders of its times, of thought and of situations," he wrote. According to Kurti, of course, no one will be able to say that this or that writer or activist was our last renaissance man.

"But of course we must all say that no one has known and known our Renaissance people more deeply, as well as valued and affirmed them more highly than academician Rexhep Qosja. In the academy he was a linguist and in language he was a historian, in public he was a writer and in writing he was a thinker, in society he was a politician and in politics a scholar. Between the heritage of the European Enlightenment and the biography of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, as well as between romanticism and postmodernism, he circulated amazingly and inspired incessantly", he wrote, among other things. He added that the Albanian people do not have another contemporary academic who contributed so much to the language and the nation and at the same time was attacked so much by politics and his colleagues.

"He will be remembered as he was and was as he remained - unyielding," Kurti wrote.

The President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, wrote that a rare academic has left the Pantheon.

"Rexhep Qosja was one of the most beautiful minds of Albanian culture and thought. My sincere condolences to his family, relatives and friends. Rest in peace, Professor!", he wrote. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, wrote: "Farewell, good Albanian."

"Rexhep Qosja is who he is in his works"

Academician Qosja has also been involved in politics throughout his life. In the 90s, he left the cabinet as a researcher and writer, giving impetus to calls for independence. He did this much earlier in his works. Then, in the 80s, he is remembered for the fierce polemics with Serbian thinkers who fueled feelings against Albanians in the former Yugoslavia. Qosja had the affinity and courage to polemicize and argue even in meetings held in Serbia. Not every Albanian did this in the 80s. In 1999, he was part of the delegation of Kosovo Albanians in Rambouillet and is among the four signatories of the Rambouillet Agreement, which paved the way for the military intervention of the democratic world against Serbia, bringing freedom and then the Independence of Kosovo.

In the documentary "Rexhep Qosja - The Last Rebirther" by author Rudina Xhunga, writer, researcher and intellectual, Moikom Zeqo has a special appreciation for Qosja.

"Rexhep Qosja's defense of the Albanian national issue in his books was a theory to argue that Kosovo's freedom is a necessity, a historical logic, it is not simply a desire," he says in the documentary broadcast in June 2014.

also Arberi April 23, 2026 Rexhep Qosja died

Rexhep Qosja was known for saying what he thought. And not infrequently, disagreements with him led to him being given numerous epithets. But his scholarly works touch and illuminate the axis of Albanian literature. And those of literary creativity strengthen this axis.

"Regardless of what is said and written about me, I can say with complete conviction that Rexhep Qosja is who he is in his works," he would say in the documentary. And his works are among the most meaningful and identity-rich heritage that Albanian culture has.