Merita B.McCormack

"Me Zerin e Zemres" - "With The Heart's Voice"-Poetry (in Albanian) - DITURIA publishing House,Albania.

"Lulet e Jargavanit" - Short Stories in Albanian, ALBIN publishing House, Albania.

"The Lilac Flowers" - Short Stories in English, ALBIN Publishing House, Albania (this book is based on true events during Communism in Albania).

"Tinguj malli" - "Longing Sounds"- Poetry (In Albanian) ALBIN Publishing House,Albania.

"Ferestrele Sufletului-Dritaret e Shpirtit"-Selected Poetry in Romanian Language, a publication in collaboration with the Albanian Union in Bucharest, Romania, Albin,2007.

"Nenes"-("Mother")-Editor and co-author- A collection of Poetry, Short Stories and Letters dedicated to Mothers by Albanian Women living all over the world.

"Mozaike Te Nje Portreti" - "Mosaics Of One Portrait" - anthology, Editor and co-author ALBIN.


"Perendim i Mallur" - Anthology of Albanian American Poets, co-author ARBERIA,Publishing House.

"Kur te Digjem" and "The Candle" - Antholgies of poets gathered in the International Festival of Poetry- "Ditet e Naimit", Tetova, Macedonia, 2005 and 2007.

"Timeless voices" - Anthology, publication of International Library of Poetry, included the opening poem, 2005.

Awards:

"GOLDEN PEN" Award from The Society of Albanian-American Writers, - best Albanian American Poet of 2005

"KADMUS" Prize for best Essay of 2007 titled "Blessed Mother Teresa " published in "Pellegrin" Magazine,Athens Greece.Awarded by "Drita" Club- League of Overseas Albanian Writers

"Second Place"- Prize for best poetry written in English by an Albanian American author,during 2006. Awarded by Editors of "Fotjonart" Magazine-a publication of "Fotjonart Publishing House".

Merita was born in Korca town to two wonderful parents,and she grew up in Cangonj village of South East Albania,where her family roots take place. Her maternal grandfather from Kalaja clan of Zemblak village,was given the infamous title "kulak" by the Albanian communist government  in 1948 hence  the whole extended family was excluded from the society and everyone in the clan was politically persecuted. Life in Communist and poor Albania was unique, different from anywhere in the world, in terms of being controlled and regulated by the government and its agents of "Sigurimi".("Sigurimi" in Albania was the equivalent to Russian KGB)

 The people who were excluded from the communist society were isolated in small villages of merely several hundred people, and were forced to just manually work in the fields, seven days a week,all year around.They were deprived of any education, jobs, religion practices, movement, contact with overseas relatives and many other things. They were spied upon and followed everywhere.The concepts or practicallity of  freedom and civil liberties were unknown. This applies to the majority of the population but was  brutally focused on the anticomunist class,who suffered the most during the four and an half decades of Communist Dictatorship..

 EVERYTHING WAS CONTROLLED by the Communist Government. Many people were interned, forced to labor camps, many more were  jailed and thousands were executed. Isolated in every way, politically persecuted, banned to practice religion, the younger Albanian generation sought ways to its freedom and searched for ways to accomplish the desire for the Truth and knowledge. Merita and her siblings self-taught English and very secretly, listened to foreign radio stations ,and became aware of the world awareness  of tyranny that the Albanian people were living under.
After the fall of communism Merita got  involved with Donor Funded Projects, in Albania, including FAO Projects, EU countries( Bilateral Aid) Projects and with Private Joint Ventures. She has,for many years now, lived in different countries of the world due to her husband's job assignments and has contributed profesionally to several projects.

Merita obtained her MBA (Master of Busines and Administration) degree from School of Management(SoM), Surrey University, England in 1998, while prior to it, in Albania, she obtained a BSc.in Agricultural Economics  and a Diploma in English Language from the two main Tirana Universities.

CURRENTLY......

Merita works for a Federal Contracting Company  in DC area and  offers her Consulting Services on a part time basis, as she raises her three young children, and  carries out volunteer duties in civil society. She is appointed by the Board of VATRA (The Pan Albanian Federation of America-The Hearth-www.federatashqiptarevatra.com )