Stories of Civilization

"Stories of Civilization" by Mimoza Ahmeti are short poetic prose pieces, but not in their traditional sense. This avant-garde of Albanian poetry turns poetry into prose, yet avoids describing sensations or landscapes, natural or urban. It also moves away from traditional narrative and dwells on a monologue with oneself as a dialogue with a stranger.

She is sitting somewhere, but without a chair; she writes, but without using her hands; she looks, but without using her eyes; she speaks, but with no one in front of her; she smells the air, but without using her nostrils; she loves and makes sex, but without using her body. The senses play no part in the writer's work, except the sensitivity of a self dissolving into indeterminacy. This image took shape for me while I read "Stories of Civilization." They civilize our brain, which grows mold from real images or concrete objects.

You will not find in these stories and images what you are looking for, so if you decide to read this book, try to sit without a chair.