Foqion Postoli

Postoli was born to a merchant family in Korçë and studied commerce in Istanbul for two years, living with relatives. He later emigrated to the United States, settling in Massachusetts. In his new home Postoli joined the Vatra, the Pan-Albanian Federation of America, was secretary for the Vatra branch in Brockton and worked on Dielli (The Sun, published by Vatra). Portions of his novels would be published as supplements to Dielli before their publication in book form.[2]

On 4 January 1919, Postoli was a signatory of a memorandum sent to the United States government by the Congress of Vatra. The congress, held at Winthrop Hall in Boston, demanded the demarcation of borders based on the 1913 Treaty of London.[3]

In 1921, he returned in his home town in Albania to help establish the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. Postoli died on 2 October 1927, at age 38.

Postoli wrote during the final years of the Albanian National Awakening and Albanian independence. Although he lived in a different era than other rilindas writers, he reflected similar themes: patriotism, opposition to Ottoman rule and pride to the country's history. His 1919 In Defense of the Homeland was typical of his nationalistic, romantic work. Postoli's novels were often inspired by problems he observed.

Postoli's novel, Flower of Remembrance, has a political background, and scholar Robert Elsie called it a slight improvement on a predictable plot. The novel, primarily written in 1919, was published in Korçë in 1924. In addition to a romantic conflict, it has elements of the late-19th-century Albanian National Awakening. Flower of Remembrance became one of the best-known Albanian novels of the 1920s and 1930s.[2]

It later inspired an opera by Kristo Kono, with a libretto by Andon Mara and Aleko Skali. The opera premiered in 1961 and was revived in 1978 and 2012.[4]