Creative Writing Workshops with Miro Villar
Acclaimed critic, poet and
novelist Miro Villar from Galicia, Spain, will be in Malta in the last
week of August to give a number of creative writing workshops and to take
part in a public forum and literary performances at Couvre Porte in Birgu
on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 August, at 8.30pm. Villar is the winner of a
number of international literary prizes, including the first edition of
the Tivoli Prize for Young European Poets for 1998; he was a finalist in
1999. His poetry has been translated into ten different languages.
Miro Villar was born in 1965. He is the author and editor of a
number of book and a literary critic who specializes in Galician
literature. He has published the first two book in a series for children
called Carlota, a Marmota
(Xerais, 2000) and in September his new book of poetry called Gameleiros, which is inspired by
photographs of Galician fishermen, will be published in Spain. At present
Miro Villar is president of the important writers’ organization called
“Batallón Literario da Costa da Morte”.
Miro Villar has years of experience as a writing tutor and he has
developed a number of tasks designed to help both the budding and the
experienced writer to improve their skills. The first two writing
workshops will be held at St. James Cavalier on Wednesday, 28 August,
between 10.00am and 12.30pm, and between 7.00pm - 9.30pm; the third
workshop will be held on Saturday, 31 August, between 10.00am and 12.30pm.
Each workshop costs Lm4; however, the cost for those who attend all three
workshops is Lm10. Participants must be at least 18 years old but need not
have any writing experience.
Places for the writing workshops are limited. Those who would like
to attend are to send their details and a cheque made out to “Inizjamed”
to Fair Haven, 40, Triq Pawlu Ebejer, Ħad-Dingli. RBT 11. For more
information write inizjamed@maltaforum.org or phone
7959 5290 or 2137 6941. Information is also available at http://inizjamed.cjb.net.
On Thursday 29 August, at 8.30pm at Couvre Porte in
Birgu, Miro Villar, literary critic Adrian Grima and
anthropologist Dr. Mark-Anthony Falzon will be the main speakers at a
public forum on the cosmopolitan and urban aspects of the Maltese
identity. The evening also features the presentation of unpublished works
by some of Malta's best writers, including Victor Fenech, Henry Holland,
Immanuel Mifsud, Ġorġ Peresso, Leslie Vassallo, Karen Vella, and
others.
On Friday 30 August, again at 8.30pm at Couvre Porte in Birgu, a
second set of literary works will be presented. The evening will
feature acclaimed saxophonist Joseph Vella; actors Romina Cachia, Ray
Calleja, and Marcelle Teuma, musicians Jonathan Grima and Vince
Fabri, and artists Savio Deguara (in picture) and William Azzopardi will present works
by Stanley Borg, Norbert Bugeja, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, and
Simone Inguanez. Miro Villar will present a series of poems dealing with
cities and myths together with slides by Galician photographer Xan Muras.
This presentation of unpublished works is called
"Diapoesia".
During both evenings, the volunteers of the fair trade shop L-Arka
of St. Paul's Street Valletta, will be selling a wide range of CDs of
world music from all over the world. Entrance to both evenings is free
and fine wine and good food will be on sale throughout the events.
Miro Villar has been invited to Malta by Inizjamed in collaboration
with NSTS, Bay Street Hotel, the Parliamentary Secretariat in the Ministry
of Education, the fair
trade shop L-Arka, the St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity. and the
Birgu Local Council.
Adrian Grima
Coordinator,
Inizjamed
16.8.02
