Gjekë Marinaj is an Albanian–American poet, writer, translator and literary critic who is also known as the founder of a form of arts criticism known as Protonism Theory. Currently living in the United States, he was the first president of the Society of Albanian-American Writers, established in 2001 and has published several books of poetry, prose and literary criticism. In 2008, Marinaj was awarded the Pjetër Arbnori Prize for literature by QNK, part of the Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports of Albania. In 2021, he was the recipient of South Korea's Changwon KC International Literary Prize His writing and peacemaking work have received acclaim and many other honors in Albania and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the U.S. and Asia. Early life and career Born in 1965 in the Malësi e Madhe District of northern Albania, Marinaj started his writing career as a restricted correspondent publishing in a number of Albanian media outlets, first in local newspapers in Shkodër, then in a series of Albanian national publications including Zëri i Rinisë (The Voice of Youth), Luftëtari (The Fighter), Vullnetari (The Volunteer), and Drita (The Light). In August 1990, Marinaj published an anti-communist satiric poem entitled "Horses" (original ). Aware of his imminent arrest by the communist regime, on September 12, 1990, Marinaj escaped authorities by illegally crossing the Albanian-Yugoslavian border. After fleeing to Yugoslavia, he received asylum in the United States. He arrived in San Diego in July 1991, then went to Richardson, Texas. In 2001, Marinaj founded the Albanian-American Writers Association, for which he served as president until 2009. In 2019, Marinaj was appointed Nation's Ambassador for his native Albania. He serves as the director for world literature publisher Mundus Artium Press. Interviews While pursuing his new life in America, Marinaj continued working as a freelance journalist for the Albanian media; his freelance work included interviews with President George Herbert Walker Bush, the ninth and then-current President of the State of Israel Shimon Peres, and world-renowned soccer player Pelé. Marinaj's collection (The Other Side of the Mirror) contains many of these interviews. Horses Marinaj initially published his poem "Horses" in the Albanian newspaper of record, Drita. What at first glance read like a simple poem about farm animals was actually a satirical social and political commentary about the Albanian people being herded and corralled by an oppressive communist regime. "Horses" appeared in Drita on