Reflexes of a lifetime

Shefki Hysa is a name that demands attention: he is as Bilal Xhaferri who knows to carefully choose from life, patiently develope the vital material, and gives us without artifice and torsion qualitative creations. No wonder that eminent writer, Ismail Kadare, after getting acquainted with the first literary creations of the novelist Shefki Hysa, would be surprisingly expressed: What’s this guy who writes differently? My beloved storyteller, with strange observations and subtle feelings; a writer always valued by me and others; – the great writer D. Agolli would be expressed enthusiastic for the future literary of the author Shefki Hysa and would not be disappointed… And truly this author’s creation is and remains very surprising. By entering deeply into our dramatic lives, he consciously observes and captures the characters and situations that treats artistically with a personal natural style, which is the result of natural features of the writer; the circumstances and living conditions where he was born; grew up and lived; where he learned and worked; from a deep village in the northern Chameria; in Bulqiza mountains; Vurgu and Vrina fields; through boulevards and the outskirts of Tirana. The difficult life, where every step jumped with pain, gaining but also leaving something by himself, where the system challanges helped him, but he couldn’t benefit from them, made him tough, wild but didn’t destroy the future writer. Here, then, why a wild lyricism and an almost diabolical cynicism pervades Shefki Hysa prose. From the creativity of this prose writer this short stories gave me great emotions: “Confessions of a Burglar”, “Black widow”, “The fall impertinent”, “Didini”, “World’s neck”, “The city magic”, “Turtullesha and the devil”, “Statuettes of love”, “The village headman”, “The magic”, “False Miracles”, “Donkeys”, “The smile”, “Squirrel”, “Love lecture”, “Poet and power”, “Chameria flavor”etc. Cham theme in the stories of the writer Shefki Hysa doesn’t intend to make themes, but it arises from within. This author uses beautifully and proudly the Cham expressions and wise sayings that we have “sprouted on the edge”. At each turn of the soul Chameria olives and oranges come forward like history and longing torches. And even if it stays as quiet watermelon under sheets, creativity of Shefki Hysa has a long time, it doesn’t need the critic to prove and say its word.

Xhemil Lato
Writer