New York Times/
Naum Rafail Prifti has passed away at the age of 91 in New York. Born in Albania on March 7, 1932, the writer known for his short stories was already a citizen before emigrating to the US in the early 1990s. Although he began writing fiction at an early age, he first studied medicine, but then went on to get his degree in Philology from the University of Tirana. He created a prolific body of work of nearly one hundred titles in literature and the arts including children’s books, plays, film scripts, opera lyrics, travel notes, literary memoirs, translations, and research essays.
Considered one of the most influential Albanian-American writers, Naum Prifti worked as a freelance author in New York for thirty years. His insightful explorations and subjects depicting the harsh daily reality of the once decades-long dictatorship in Albania have earned him comparisons with the works of Solzhenitsyn. Regardless of the period in which they were written, or whether they were created in Albania or the US, his stories are considered a literary standard of nonconformity even today.
Naum Prifti’s bibliography includes Grinding of the Soul published by Columbia University Press 2009 “a powerful historical novel that explores life under the extreme Stalinist-Maoist regime of Enver Hoxha”. His collections of short stories, plays and memoirs represent only part of his influential literary legacy. Naum Prifti’s voluminous body of work is a demonstration of his creative mastery as well as a manifestation of his fine brand of humanism woven together with sharp wit and lyrical style.
He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Rina, daughters Loreta, Julika, Rafaela, and grandchildren Dorian and Rea.
New York Times