DR. ZEJNEPE ALILI RExHEPI – PROFESSOR, SCHOLAR, SHORT STORY WRITER, POET AND ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT LITERARY CRITICS
*Jeta dhe vepra e Prof.Dr. Zejnepe Alili Rexhepi në gjuhë angleze te libri im trevëllimësh “POTRAITS OF WRITERS”, përkthyer në anglisht nga Znj. Valentina Muka Korçari (Kanadë)
Dr. Zejnepe Alili Rexhepi was born on January 16, 1973, in Tetovo. She completed her primary education at the “Istikball” Primary School in Tetovo and her secondary education at the Tetovo Gymnasium. In 1997, she graduated in Albanian Language and Literature from the Department of Albanian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology, “St. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje. In the same year, she began working at the “Abdyl Frashëri” Primary School in Bogovinë, Tetovo. The following year, in 1998, she became a teacher at the Tetovo Gymnasium, where she taught the subject of Albanian Language and Literature for ten years (until 2007). Since 2007, she has been a lecturer in the Department of Albanian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Tetovo, teaching courses such as: Old Albanian Literature I-II, Comparative Literature I-II, Analysis and Interpretation, Academic Writing, and Albanian Culture and Civilization.
In 2008, she completed her master’s degree at the Faculty of Philology – Department of Literature at the University of Prishtina with the thesis: “The Image of Women in the Work of Sterjo Spasse” (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Agim Vinca), earning the title of Master of Philological Sciences. In 2010, she obtained her PhD in Philological Sciences from “St. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, with the thesis: “The Character of the Female Figure in the Works of Migjeni and G. Flaubert” (supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mirlinda Krifca Beqiri).
Zejnepe has been writing since her childhood, publishing poetry, essays, travelogues, short stories, interviews, literary reviews, studies, and literary criticism. Her works have been published in numerous newspapers and magazines both locally and internationally, in various Albanian and broader spaces, including “Flaka,” “Fakti,” “Koha,” “Shpallja,” “Tribuna Shkencore,” “Drita,” “Jehona,” “Shqiptarja,” “Cogito,” “Ndryshe,” “Haiku,” “MEDIA,” “Studime Albanologjike,” “Dielli,” “Nacional,” “Metafora,” “Muzgu,” “Bota sot,” “Bota Press,” “Bulevard,” “Plejada,” “Qëndresa,” “Gazeta letrare,” “Ars Albanica,” and others.
In 1997-1998, she served as the editor-in-chief of the youth cultural and entertainment magazine “Drita” in Tetovo. From 2000-2001, she was a member of the editorial board of the cultural-educational magazine for youth, “Gjimnazisti,” at the Tetovo Gymnasium. She participated in seminars for the implementation of new teaching techniques (interactive teaching) in Ohrid (2006) and Skopje (2007).
From 2008-2009, she was a member of the editorial board of the university literary-scientific magazine “Cogito” at the University of Tetovo, and a member of the Commission for Publishing Albanian Textbooks at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Macedonia (2009). From 2015-2018, she was a member of the editorial board of the university scientific journals “Albanologjia” and “Filologjia” in Tetovo.
She has been active in numerous literary and cultural organizations. In 2015, she became the vice-president of the “Oeneum” Writers’ Association in Tetovo, and in 2017, she was elected president of the association. In 2017, she was awarded a Plaque of Appreciation for her contribution to promoting Tetovo’s cultural values by the mayor of Tetovo, Mrs. Teuta Arifi. In 2017-2018, she served as the head of the editorial board and editor-in-chief of the cultural magazine “Plejada.” In 2018, she was elected Secretary of the Union of Albanian Writers’ Associations in Prizren, and she has held several other important positions in cultural and literary institutions.
Zejnepe Alili Rexhepi has been publishing literary works since 1998, including poetry, studies, publicistic works, essays, and literary criticism. Some of her published books include:
● Peng loti (Tear’s Regret), Poetry, Faik Konica, Tetovo, 1998
Ëndërr shtegtuese (Wandering Dream), Poetry, Flaka, Skopje, 2000
Ujëvara e syrit (The Waterfall of the Eye), Poetry, ARS-ZZ, Tetovo, 2007
Figura e gruas në veprën e Sterjo Spasses (The Figure of Woman in the Work of Sterjo Spasses), Literary Study, ARS-ZZ, Tetovo, 2009
Nën pushtetin e Erosit (Under the Power of Eros), Selected Poems, ARS-ZZ, Tetovo, 2011
Poetika e rrëfimit letrar (The Poetics of Literary Narrative), Studies and Analysis, ARS-ZZ, Tetovo, 2014
Poetika Migjeniane – Simbolika e gruas shqiptare (Migjenian Poetics – The Symbolism of Albanian Women), Literary Criticism, Dauti Foundation, Skopje, 2015
Grimca që pluskojnë mall (Fragments that Splash Longing), Short Stories, FocusPrint, Skopje, 2019
Flakadani i kujtesës (The Spark of Memory), Almanac – Albanian-English, FocusPrint, Tetovo, 2020
Gjurmë në kohë (Traces in Time), Impressions and Travelogues, Luma Grafik, Tetovo, 2020
Poema e syrit (The Poem of the Eye), Poetic Anthology – Albanian-English, Luma Grafik, Tetovo, 2021
Her works have been included in over 30 literary anthologies in various countries and translated into multiple languages, particularly English. For her literary, pedagogical, and publicistic work, she has received numerous awards and literary prizes. She has contributed to the creation of works for children and adults, as well as pedagogical materials. Her literary reviews, analyses, and criticism, covering nearly 1000 pages of text, have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers, contributing significantly to the field of Albanian literature.
Currently (2024), Zejnepe Alili Rexhepi continues to serve as the vice-president of the “ArsAlbanica” Culture and Science Association in Tetovo and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal ArsAlbanica.
Author: Zekerija Idrizi
Berlin /Shkup
