Author: Valton Vuçitërna The Pass of Tyrana by Edward Lear. The piece depicts the Krraba Pass between Elbasan and Tirana and is overlooked by Mt. Tomorr, c. 1848. Introduction This May, I made my way down the coast of Lake Michigan and through the rustbelt of northern Indiana towards Chicago, the metropolis best known for its distinctive skyline and windy sobriquet. First stepping foot in the city, this felt more like a misnomer, as the spring afternoon offered only a tender

Author: Valton Vuçitërna A mural posing the poignant rhetorical question: “Where is Ukshin Hoti?” in reference to the disappearance of the ethnic Albanian political scientist at the hands of Yugoslav authorities. This photograph is taken on a Prishtina street but similar ones can be found throughout Kosova. There is a region in the western fold of the Republic of Kosova, nestled between the sweeping fields that make up the Plain of Dukagjini and the first gentle risings of la

Author: Enri Lala Wreckage of the Kater i Radës motorboat, photographed in March 2012. Photo courtesy of Arta Ngucaj and Arben Beqiraj. Lab song, Southern Albanian music, iso-polyphony. However we refer to it, the musical tradition of the Lab region in the Albanian South has long enjoyed a notoriety both for its antiquity and peerless value. Indeed, the pioneering work launched by Harvard scholars Millman Perry and his student Albert Lord has demonstrated that extant musical