is the Albanian writer whose life and works perhaps best mirror the history of his nation, according to the art critic and albanalogist, Robert Elsie.
Visar Zhiti was condemned to 10 years in prison because of his poetry that were against the socialist realism and the reality of socialism. In prison, Zhiti created hidden poetry, part of this poetry he did not write down, but he kept it written in his mind and many of the inmates had memorized them so they wouldn’t be lost.
After he was liberated from prison, Zhiti joined the movement to democratize Albania. He worked as a journalist in the first newspaper of opposition against the dictatorship.
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After the fall of imperial communism, Visar Zhiti tried to publish his literary works. He has become a well-known writer and published many books of poetry:
1. The Memory of Air
2. To Throw a Skull at Your Feet
3. Planting of Lightning Storms
4. The Living Doors
5. Time Hurt in Sight
6. How Do You Go To …?
7. The Treasure of Fear

In English, an anthology of his poems has been published in the USA, The Condemned Apple. Another anthology has been published in Italian, Romania, Croatia and Macedonia with the title, Barefoot and Crazy. The introduction is written by a well-known Macedonian writer, Ante Popovski, who considers Zhiti as an avant-garde poet in the Balkans.
In Macedonia, Visar Zhiti has published three books.
Zhiti has published short stories: 9 – The Foot of David 10– Another Century 11- The Ripped Luggage, ect.

novels: 12- The Never-ending Funeral 13- The Backwards God and his Lover 14- In the Time of the Cry, ect. and 15- The Road of Hell 16- The Ripped Hell Two powerful books about prison and todays reality.

A part of his works in prose poetry are translated in many different languages, such as Italian, English, Romanian, Croatian, French, German, Danish, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Serbian, etc.
Visar Zhiti has won many national and international literary prizes. He has also partaken in many poetry festivals in the world, including in Struga. Zhiti was held many different positions, as a teacher, journalist, congressman, Minister of Culture, and is currently a diplomat, and directs the Albanian Embassy in the Vatican.
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