Ismail Kadare Quotes
For a writer, personal freedom is not so important. It is not individual freedom that guarantees the greatness of literature; otherwise, writers in democratic countries would be superior to all others. Some of the greatest writers wrote under dictatorship - Shakespeare, Cervantes.
Guppy, Shusha. "Ismail Kadare, The Art of Fiction No. 147." The Paris Review, no. 147, Summer 1998.
Porfirio Diaz - the longtime dictator of Mexico stole the election of 1910 and had his opponent Francisco Madero arrested and imprisoned. Madero got out, crossed the border to San Antonio, and issued this declaration which started the Mexican Revolution. See {613620} for the statement that declared the Revolution.
Graham was a very strong advocate for democracies. However, many politicians advocated staying out of that struggle. They pointed out that Graham was very inconsistent. He opposed the U. S. taking sides in most of the other struggles between democracies and dictatorships such as in Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the dictatorships of Azerbaijan, Zimbabwe, and Burma among others. Graham was a strong anti-Russian and supported countries who were against Russia or with whom Russia was at odds.
Written when only a teenager.
Referring to the Erdogan government of Turkey. That country elected Erdogan who then turned his back on the Ataturk inspired democracy and instituted many non-democratic policies and practices including jailing civil servants, teachers and journalists who publicly criticize the president or the government.
Ismail Kadare is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the publication of his first novel, The General of the Dead Army, which made him famous internationally.
