The man from a town called Puke
Ndrek Gjini, poet, writer, and arts office assistant at the Galway City Council
He lived through the communist regime of Enver Hoxha; pursued journalism for 13 years; sought political asylum in Ireland; published poetry in Albanian and English; and now in Galway, he is a tireless promoter and supporter of the city’s cultural and artistic scene. He is Ndrek Gjini. Read more….
Writer Ndrek finds new voice in language he learned 10 years ago
Albanian born journalist Ndrek Gjini didn’t speak a word of English when he moved to Ireland 10 years ago, to escape political repression in his own country.Read more…
Strokestown International Poetry Festival
Ireland’s most prestigious poetry festival is set to start with a bang – and a laugh – at the Percy French Hotel in Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, on the night of Friday 29 April and will run over the Bank Holiday weekend……..Other highlights of the festival include readings by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, professor of English Literature at TCD, and Ndrek Gjini an Albanian poet living in Galway. Read more….
Poets from Albania and Belfast
NDREK GJINI began attending the University of Shkoder in his native Albania in 1984 when the country’s ageing ultra-Stalinist dictator, Enver Hoxha, was still organising lavish pageants in honour of himself. Ndrek is currently completing an MA in writing in the hopefully somewhat more liberal atmosphere of NUI Galway. Read more…
Cyphers 71 launched at Strokestown International Arts Festival
No. 71 was launched on May Day 2011 at Strokestown House. A reading by Albanian poet Ndrek Gjini, Galway resident, marked the event. Read More…
The stammering poet
At Strokestown on the May Bank Holiday weekend, Eilean ni Chuilleanain at the launch of Cyphers introduced Albanian poet Ndrek Gjini. I have to be honest. My heart sank. I find it hard enough to understand Irish poets. I was hardly going to be enchanted by an Albanian poet.
Just goes to show how much I know. Ndrek was a breath of fresh air. His poetry is very simple, very easy to understand, very metaphor based and an absolute delight. Read more…
September Over The Edge Reading
‘As I Roved Out’ is a traditional song composition project
Albanians celebrate 100 years of independence with exhibition
The exhibition was compiled with the assistance of the Clare Albanian community and Irish Friends of Albania and it was first showcased in Galway in 2012. According to Ndrek Gjini, Arts Office Assistant with Galway City Council, Clare is a fitting next stop for the exhibition due to the county’s sizeable Albanian population. “There are more than 300 Albanians living in Clare and more than that, Kosovans who are national Albanians too. Most of them made Ennis and Clare their home during the war in Kosovo in 1999. During that war, the Irish government decided to send a humanitarian team to help and support those Albanians who were living in some camps in Albania escaping from Milosevic’s regime of genocide. Most of them have got now Irish citizenship and they are very well settled in Ennis and other towns in Clare. They own shops, restaurants, they run different businesses – they are very well integrated into Irish society,” he said. Read more…