IRMA KURTI is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator and has been writing since she was a child. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. All her books are dedicated to the memory of her beloved parents, Hasan Kurti and Sherife Mezini, who have supported and encouraged every step of her literary path. Irma Kurti has won numerous literary prizes and awards in Italy and Italian Switzerland. She was awarded the Universum Donna International Prize IX Edition 2013 for Literature and received a lifetime nomination as an Ambassador of Peace by the University of Peace, Italian Switzerland. In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry. She is a member of the jury for several literary competitions in Italy. She is also a translator for the Ithaca Foundation in Spain.

Irma Kurti has published 29 books in Albanian, 25 in Italian, 16 in English, and two in French. She has written approximately 150 lyrics for adults and children. She has also translated 20 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. She is one of the most translated and published Albanian poets. Her books have been translated and published in 16 countries.

The river of time

Wrinkles lived on your forehead; 
you have changed so much.
I’m desperately searching for that man 
whom I once loved.


I’m looking for the lips that gave me 
the most beautiful kiss in the world; 
lips that brought me other sensations.
I try in vain; I don’t know you anymore.


A bit of azure has remained in your eyes: 
now you are bent, grown old.
I despair, I’m sorry for you; 
I can’t pronounce a word.


Let me fall on my knees, full of longing. 
Let me bless you and kiss your hand.
You’ve given me the greatest love 
and it will forever remain this way.

I’ll need you

I will need you 
in winter days, 
when the rain 
unceasingly falls 
and the drops 
resemble 
the tears 
flowing down
from my soul. 


In the long nights 
I’ll need you, 
when snowflakes 
kiss the ground
in stillness, 
as thousands 
of telegrams 
arriving from 
a new universe. 


Even when 
I’m happy, 
the joy and grief 
live nearby, 
aren’t divided 
by a single step, 
the delight turns 
into melancholy 
in an instant. 



I will always 
need you 
so, please ... 
take care of yourself! 


Taken from the book “Love, you don’t know”, Ukiyoto Publishing, 2022