Vanished Loves is a collection of 55 poems dedicated to the memory of my parents. The life and work of my father, Hasan Kurti, have been the best examples and sources of inspiration for me. I thank him for our long dialogues and for the hundreds of minor and major literary projects that he untiringly discussed with me. I thank him for encouraging me at every step of my literary journey since I was 10 years old. I thank him for never praising me and never telling me “Very good,” for encouraging me to work and learn every day of my life, thus helping make me an eternal student.
This book is also dedicated to my mother, Sherife Mezini. I thank her for all the years we shared together. She was my greatest friend, who taught me to appreciate and love the magic of everyday occurrences. I would not have exchanged for anything in the world being near her on those winter nights, in a cold room, close to a small electric stove, chatting for hours with her about my joys and disappointments. I thank her for the infinite love she gave me, for the afternoons that we passed together talking, without feeling the crazy rush of time, and for the humor and ease with which she helped me live the suffocating everyday life in Albania.
Without my parents’ presence in my life, my literary journey would have ended many years ago, and I would have followed the path that many young people in a closed, provincial city take. Now, both of them are in my heart, giving me the strength to write and fight every day.

The author