Zavalani was born on 15 August 1903 in
Monastir,
Ottoman Empire, today's Bitola in
North Macedonia, or
Korça, today's
Albania. He was the son of Albanian activist and nationalist
Fehim Zavalani and Qerime Frashëri from
Korçë. Among other translations was
The mother, a novel of
Gorky which was banned by the authorities. he abandoned the Communist movement, and actually became an
anti-communist. In 1936, he married Selma Vrioni (1915–1995), also known as Maria Selma, daughter of Kahreman Vrioni (1889–1955), a rich
bey from
Fier area, and Emine Frashëri (daughter of
Abdyl Frashëri). and his BBC colleagues Dervish Duma and Anton Logoreci, he appealed to the British authorities and to King Zog for monetary support for establishing a "Free Albanian" committee which would serve like a government in exile. Although the idea was supported by the British albanophiles, it did not make it to light due to Zogu's rejection. Ahmet Zogu replied that "his position as the Head of State of Albania and could not be affected by the attitude of few lads in London". Zavalani worked for BBC for the rest of his life. He was a member of
PEN Club and published in its press organ
Arena, and Chairman of
ACEN branch of London. Zavalani died in an accident in 1966. His wife engaged as a representative of the
"Free Albania" National Committee after his death. ==Publications==