Abstract
This article explores the “centripetal” and “centrifugal” dynamics in the literary history of Shkodra, drawing on Eqrem Çabej’s conception—and particularly his approach—to opposing tendencies in cultural and identity formation. By examining key figures and works from Barleti, the Dukagjinis, and the Bushatlis to contemporary authors such as Ridvan Dibra and Stefan Çapaliku, the study demonstrates how Shkodra has functioned simultaneously as a center for the gathering, elaboration, and dissemination of historical and literary narratives. The article argues that the processes of “centrifugalism” and “centripetalism” are defined not only by physical migration or demographic contraction but also by the circulation of ideas, literary returns, and the rearticulating of cultural identity. In this way, Shkodra’s literary history emerges as a network of interactions in which figures, institutions, and texts produce a “topography” of tensions and convergences between remaining and departing, between centralization and dispersal.