Elena Kelmendi is a famous writer, artist and political activist. Elena was born in Greece, the daughter of an affluent family. She became a naturalized Greek citizen in 1957, becoming a British citizen in the same year. Elena’s parents were both prominent Greek leaders. Elena was very unhappy with her lack of nationality and was deeply influenced by the anti-fascist movements, which were widespread in Europe at that time.
Elena had several educational qualifications, including degrees in journalism and writing, both from the University of Athens and the University of Rhode Island, but these did not prepare her for what became a career in international journalism. After retiring from the British Broadcasting Service she established a publishing company, publishing Greek and English periodicals for both men and women. This was to become a major influence on her later work. Elena began to publish Greek authors and scholars work, and in the early eighties she was to take over as the editor in chief of the periodical Kathakali, a periodical which focused on the art and culture of Greece and other Greek islands.
Elena grew to be very knowledgeable about her subject and this helped her to develop and write several successful novels and articles on the topic. In fact Elena Kelmendi’s knowledge about Greece and the people of that country grew as she worked on her various publications, and she managed to write more than fifty books about the topic, many of which were produced outside of her home country. Elena Kelmendi’s breadth of knowledge was almost as broad, if not wider than her enormous talent, which led to her being nominated for the Academy’s distinguished writer category in 1970. Elena Kelmendi enjoyed a varied career throughout her life, although most of her writings were devoted to political and social analysis. As a writer, Elena Kelmendi achieved some success, but it was her international work which really whetted her appetite for writing and eventually led her to write much more personal and intimate books about her own life.