Recently, Gjonlekaj Publishing Company in New York published a book of poems entitled Shkėndija frymėzimi (Sparks of Inspiration) by Albanian-American Elpiniqi Frasheri, thereby providing a valuable addition to the other works written by Albanian-American authors.

The book, which the writer dedicates to her family, is divided into two sections: the first section includes 131 pages in Albanian edited by the well- known Albanian author, Elena Kadare, and the second includes 44 pages written in English. The jacket of the book is designed by the Albanian artist, Adrian Grezda.

Elpiniqi Frasheri was born on November 14, 1903, in Leusa, Albania, a village near Permet. Because she misses her birthplace so deeply, one of her best poems is dedicated to that small village ("Now that I am far away, I often remember you my Leusa/so rich are the sweetest memories".

Elpiniqi completed her primary education in the Greek language. Her family spent five years in the USA and then moved back to Albania in 1921. Elpiniqi taught in the girls school in Permet for 4 years and then she continued her studies at the American College for Girls in Athens. After her graduation, she taught at the Kennedy School in Korca, Albania.

When she came back to America in 1931 with her daughter and her husband, GeorgeFrasheri, Elpiniqi was employed at a company called "The Spool Cotton Co. " She received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology in 1959 and her Master's Degree in Educational Psychology in 1962, both from the University of Columbia. In 1956, she commenced her teaching career until her retirement in 1969.

Throughout her life, Elpiniqi has been involved in various activities within the Albanian community such as "The Albanian Woman of America" , she was charter member of the committee that made possible the establishment of the Albanian Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas in New York. In 1939, she was the chairperson at the protest meeting against the Italian occupation of Albania.

Many of Elpiniqi's articles, poems, and essays, both in Albanian and English, have been previously published in Albanian newspapers.

Included in Shkėndija frymėzimi are poems that she wrote from age of 20 to age 92.

Elpiniqi's poems are written in a smooth, lyrical style, simple and clear, and, to a certain extent, are reminiscent of the style of the writers of the "Rilindja" period. All of them reveal both the inspiration and pain she encountered throughout her life. Elpiniqi's love of country is also expressed in her poems ("Brave Albanian men, protect your country and your honor/the land that God gave you/do not lose it to the hands of foreigners").

Homesickness for her Albania is the theme of many of the poems that Elpiniqi wrote in the course of her life ("Good-bye my precious home/you spoke with such memories/although with a broken heart /and troubled soul as an orphan/I am leaving you forever/but this is not my desire/because you are part of our life/it's just time for decisions").

The philosophy of life - an understanding of living, while a preferred theme for most writers and poets, finds an original treatment in Elpiniqi's poems ("Oh God, why did you hide your plans for me/is not worth asking/I cannot find an answer/even reasoning does not make it easier/to explain what is happening in the world today").

Elpiniqi Frasheri is currently preparing a memoir and a collection of her unpublished works.