Ismaíl Kadaré, Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, has died

Ismaíl Kadaré, 2009 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, has died.

The Jury decided to bestow the Award on Ismaíl Kadaré for “the beauty and profound commitment of his literary works. Using everyday language which is nonetheless full of lyricism, Ismaíl Kadaré narrates the tragedy of his land, an incessant battleground. Giving life to old myths through new words, he expresses all the grief and dramatic load of conscience. His commitment is rooted in the great literary tradition of the Hellenic world, which he projects onto the contemporary stage as an open condemnation of any form of totalitarianism and in defence of reason.”, as stated in the Minutes of the Jury.

The Jury was chaired by Víctor García de la Concha and made up of by Andrés Amorós, Luis María Anson, J. J. Armas Marcelo, Blanca Berasátegui, Pedro Casals, Antonio Colinas, Francisco Javier Fernández Vallina, Laura García Lorca, José Luis García Martín, Pilar García Mouton, Olvido García Valdés, Emilio González Ferrín, Manuel Llorente, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, Rosa Navarro Durán, Berta Piñán, Fernando Rodríguez Lafuente, Fernando Sánchez Dragó and with Román Suárez Blanco as acting secretary.

The Awards Ceremony, which took place on 23rd October, was presided over by HM King Felipe VI, then Prince of Asturias. Besides the address by His Majesty, the speeches at the ceremony were given by Ismaíl Kadaré, José Narro, Rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico; Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin; Margaret Chan, Director-General World Health Organization and Matías Rodríguez Inciarte, then President of the Princess of Asturias Foundation.