Impenji / Events
2004
Poems Published in Corsica and Austria
Pubblikazzjoni ta' Poeżiji f'Korsika u l-Awstrija
Preżentazzjoni ta’ l-Ewwel Bijografija ta' Patri Feliċjan Bilocca (Malta, 26 Nov.)
Pubblikazzjoni ta' l-istudju dwar Dun Karm, id-Dielja u l-Barranin (Malta, 29 Ott.)
Dun Karm, id-Dielja u l-Barranin (Malta, 29 Ott.)
Klandestini - Festival tal-Kittieba Emerġenti fil-Mediterran
Literair Paspoort - Festival tal-Poeżija (The Hague, 25-26 Settembru, 2004)
VERS - Malta International Poetry Festival (14-16 Sept.)
L’élargissement: la définition d’un nouveau
paysage culturel européen (Paris, 17 mai 2004)
ACUME International Colloquium (UOM, 7-8 May, 2004):
"Forging the National Imaginary in Maltese Literature"
Vizzji bħall-Ktieb (Inizjamed, Malta, 23 ta' April)
Public Lecture (WIPSS, UOM, 21 April):
"Despite her dark skin, her face was attractive"
Suppressing Identities in an Enlightened Malta
"Voci del Mediterraneo" - Festival tal-Poeżija (Catania, March) - Interview La Sicilia
Conference Paper (Nicosia, February):
Savage Boys and the Predatory Woman in Holland's Garden
Żewġ
poeżiji ta' Adrian Grima dehru f'pubblikazzjonijiet li ħarġu
lejn tmiem l-2004 fl-Awstrija u Korsika. "Il-Forma ta' Mħabbtek" ġiet
tradotta għall-Ġermaniż minn Dr. Ray Fabri u dehret fir-rivista
Lichtungen ippubblikata fi Graz, waqt li "Distanzi" nqalbet
għall-Korsikan mill-Prof. Ghjacumu Thiers u dehret fir-rivista Bonanova.
Uħud mill-poeżiji tradotti jidhru
hawnhekk.
Two poems by Adrian Grima have been published in Graz, Austria, and in Corsica. "Il-Forma ta' Mħabbtek" ("The Shape of Your Love") was translated into German by Dr. Ray Fabri and appeared in the literary magazine Lichtungen published in Graz, while "Distanzi" ("Distances") was translated into Corsican by Prof. Ghjacumu Thiers and appeared in Bonanova. Some of Adrian Grima's poems in translation are reproduced here.
Preżentazzjoni ta’ l-Ewwel Bijografija ta'
Patri Feliċjan Bilocca
Nhar
il-Ġimgħa, 26 ta’ Novembru, 2004, Adrian Grima se jkun wieħed mill-kelliema
waqt il-preżentazzjoni tal-ktieb ta’ Sergio Grech dwar Patri Feliċjan
Bilocca. Ħajtu u Żminijietu (1914-1987). Il-preżentazzjoni se ssir
fil-Lukanda Corinthia San Ġorġ ta' Paceville u tibda fis-7.00pm. Il-kelliema
l-oħra se jkunu John Buttigieg, Dun Renè Camillieri, it-Tabib Daniel
Micallef, u Lino Spiteri. Iċ-chairperson se jkun l-istoriku Charles Dalli.
Patri Feliċjan Bilocca (1914-1987) kien Kapuċċin mill-Furjana
li ħajtu kienet kontroversja waħda. Il-ktieb innifsu mistenni li jkun
kontroversjali minħabba s-suġġetti li jaqbad.
Sergio Grech, wieħed mill-organizzaturi ta' Poeżijaplus. Dan hu l-ewwel
ktieb ta' l-awtur. Il-ktieb hu riżultat ta' numru ta' snin ta' riċerka u
nbena fuq numru ta' dokumenti li nkisbu minn diversi mkejjen. Xi dokumenti
qed jintużaw wkoll għall-ewwel darba. L-awtur ikkonsulta dokumenti
mill-Public Records Office ta' Londra u mill-BBC li għandu ċentru ta'
riċerka vast f'Reading.
L-awtur uża wkoll l-arkivji ta' għaqdiet reliġjużi bħal Kana u l-Azzjoni
Kattolika. Grech juża wkoll id-djarji ta' Bilocca u minnhom joħroġ materjal
ġdid li għandu x'jaqsam ma' l-istorja ta' Malta.
Il-ktieb hu miżgħud bir-ritratti li wara kull wieħed hemm storja. Xi
dokumenti huma inklużi fil-ktieb. Hemm per eżempju l-pastorali ta' l-1962
bil-kaligrafija ta' Mons.Gonzi stess u ittra li Gonzi bagħat lill-Vatikan li
qed tidher kollha għall-ewwel darba.
Bilocca ħa sehem f'diversi waqtiet fl-istorja ta' Malta. Kien attiv fi żmien
l-Integration u waqt il-ġlieda politiko-reliġjuża tas-snin sittin u l-awtur
jiffoka ħafna fuq dawk l-avvenimenti li kienu kruċjali fl-istorja ta' dawn
l-aħħar erbgħin sena.
Fis-snin sebgħin, Patri Feliċjan, minn għadu ta' l-M.L.P. sar ħabib intimu u
beda jaqbeż għall-partit fil-pubbliku. Għalih li jintervjeni direttament
fil-politika kien il-mezz ideali biex jagħmel il-ġid. L-awtur jiffoka wkoll
fuq l-inkwiet li kellu ma' l-Arċisqof Ġużeppi Mercieca dwar bosta
affarijiet.
Il-ktieb, li hu miktub b’Malti aċċessibli għal kulħadd, jipprova jgħarbel
il-karattru ta' wild Malti li ma beżax imexxi ‘l quddiem dak li kien jemmen
fih.
Dun Karm, id-Dielja u l-Barranin
Għadu
kemm ħareġ il-ktejjeb “Dgħajjes Qodma u Maħmuġin” - Dun Karm, id-Dielja u
l-Barranin, bl-istudju li kiteb Adrian Grima fl-okkażjoni tad-diskors
li għamel biex
jitfakkar
Jum Dun Karm
nhar il-Ġimgħa, 29 ta’ Ottubru, 2004, f’Sala Robert Samut, il-Furjana.
Il-ktejjeb ġie ppubblikat
mill-Kumitat
Festi Nazzjonali.
Dan l-istudju huwa mnebbaħ mill-poeżija ta’ Dun Karm, “Lid-Dielja,” imxandra għall-ewwel darba fl-1913, u mill-poeżija bit-Taljan “Viticoltura," li l-poeta xandar fl-1911.
Permezz ta' kitbiet tal-botaniku, il-Prof. Gianni Borg, Adrian Grima jħares lejn dawn il-poeżiji fl-isfond ta’ l-istorja tad-dwieli u l-produzzjoni ta’ l-inbid fil-Gżejjer Maltin fl-ewwel snin tas-seklu għoxrin. Fl-istess ħin se jintrepreta l-poeżija “Lid-Dielja” bħala xogħol politiku li jiġbor fih uħud mill-elementi ewlenin ta' l-ideoloġija kulturali ta’ Dun Karm.
Dr. Grima jsostni li l-qarrejja tal-lum għandhom iqisu l-viżjoni tal-barranin li hemm f’dawn il-poeżiji, mibnija fuq il-biża’ u s-suspett, fil-kuntest taż-żmien li fih inkitbu, u b’dan il-mod joħolqu relazzjoni dinamika mat-testi li tagħtihom ħajja dejjem ġdida. [ikompli]
"Għal Dun Karm, u aktarx għal ħafna minna anki llum, hemm distinzjoni netta bejn dawn il-"Maltin" u l-"barranin," imma fil-fatt l-affarijiet, kif niskopru meta jkollna każ partikulari quddiemna, huma bil-wisq iktar kumplikati minn hekk. Il-verità hi li kulħadd għandu l-idea tiegħu ta’ x’inhi l-identità Maltija, ta’ x’inhuma dawk l-affarijiet li jagħmluk Malti jew Maltija; u kulħadd għandu l-ideat tiegħu dwar x’inhuma dawk il-kwalitajiet li jagħmluk Malti jew Maltija “tassew.”
Għalik forsi, li tkun Malti/ja jfisser li tkun tgħix f’Malta, jew li twelidt f’Malta, imma nafu li hemm nies li jqisu ruħhom Maltin, u aħna nqisuhom hekk wkoll, minkejja li ma jgħixux jew ma twildux Malta. Għal ħafna minna li tkun Malti jew Maltija jfisser li titkellem bil-Malti, jew li tħaddan ir-reliġjon Kattolika, jew li jkollok ġilda “samra qamħija” (v. 8), imma hemm Maltin li m’għandhomx waħda jew aktar minn dawn il-karatteristiċi. Barra minn hekk, hemm nies li huma ċittadini Maltin li ma jqisux ruħhom, jew ma nqisuhomx, bħala Maltin, u hemm ħafna li jħossu li ma jappartjenu għal ebda ġens partikulari, jew li huma membri sħaħ ta’ aktar minn ġens wieħed."
Biex tikseb kopja ikteb lil Dr. Adrian Grima fl-indirizz adrian.grima@um.edu.mt
Novembru, 2004
Dun
Karm, id-Dielja u l-Barranin
Il-Kumitat Festi Nazzjonali stieden lil Dr. Adrian Grima biex jagħmel diskors dwar Dun Karm f’Lejla ta’ Tifkira li se ssir nhar il-Ġimgħa, 29 ta’ Ottubru, 2004, f’Sala Robert Samut, il-Furjana. Il-lejla tibda fis-6.30pm. Id-dħul huwa b’xejn u kulħadd huwa mistieden biex jattendi.
Id-diskors ta’ Dr. Grima, “Dgħajjes Qodma u Maħmuġin” - Dun Karm, id-Dielja u l-Barranin, huwa mnebbaħ mill-poeżija ta’ Dun Karm, “Lid-Dielja,” imxandra għall-ewwel darba fl-1913, u mill-poeżija bit-Taljan “Viticoltura" li l-poeta xandar fl-1911.
Permezz ta' kitbiet tal-botaniku, il-Prof. Gianni Borg, Adrian Grima jħares lejn dawn il-poeżiji fl-isfond ta’ l-istorja tad-dwieli u l-produzzjoni ta’ l-inbid fil-Gżejjer Maltin fl-ewwel snin tas-seklu għoxrin. Fl-istess ħin se jintrepreta l-poeżija “Lid-Dielja” bħala xogħol politiku li jiġbor fih uħud mill-elementi ewlenin ta' l-ideoloġija kulturali ta’ Dun Karm.
Dr. Grima jsostni li l-qarrejja tal-lum għandhom iqisu l-viżjoni tal-barranin li hemm f’dawn il-poeżiji, mibnija fuq il-biża’ u s-suspett, fil-kuntest taż-żmien li fih inkitbu, u b’dan il-mod joħolqu relazzjoni dinamika mat-testi li tagħtihom ħajja dejjem ġdida.
"Għal Dun Karm, u aktarx għal ħafna minna anki llum, hemm distinzjoni netta bejn dawn il-"Maltin" u l-"barranin," imma fil-fatt l-affarijiet, kif niskopru meta jkollna każ partikulari quddiemna, huma bil-wisq iktar kumplikati minn hekk. Il-verità hi li kulħadd għandu l-idea tiegħu ta’ x’inhi l-identità Maltija, ta’ x’inhuma dawk l-affarijiet li jagħmluk Malti jew Maltija; u kulħadd għandu l-ideat tiegħu dwar x’inhuma dawk il-kwalitajiet li jagħmluk Malti jew Maltija “tassew.”
Għalik forsi, li tkun Malti/ja jfisser li tkun tgħix f’Malta, jew li twelidt f’Malta, imma nafu li hemm nies li jqisu ruħhom Maltin, u aħna nqisuhom hekk wkoll, minkejja li ma jgħixux jew ma twildux Malta. Għal ħafna minna li tkun Malti jew Maltija jfisser li titkellem bil-Malti, jew li tħaddan ir-reliġjon Kattolika, jew li jkollok ġilda “samra qamħija” (v. 8), imma hemm Maltin li m’għandhomx waħda jew aktar minn dawn il-karatteristiċi. Barra minn hekk, hemm nies li huma ċittadini Maltin li ma jqisux ruħhom, jew ma nqisuhomx, bħala Maltin, u hemm ħafna li jħossu li ma jappartjenu għal ebda ġens partikulari, jew li huma membri sħaħ ta’ aktar minn ġens wieħed."
Fil-lejla se jieħdu sehem ukoll, fost l-oħrajn, il-kantawtur Mario Debono, u l-kantanta Merga.
Il-Kumitat Festi Nazzjonali jfakkar lill-poeta nazzjonali Dun Karm
Matul ix-xahar ta’ Ottubru, il-Kumitat Festi Nazzjonali qed jieħu ħsieb li jfakkar it-twelid u l-mewt tal-poeta nazzjonali tagħna Dun Karm.
Fost l-attivitajiet li qed jiġu organizzati nhar il-Ġimgħa, id-29 ta’ Ottubru, fis-6.30 ta’ filgħaxija se tittella’ lejla ta’ tifkira fis-Sala Robert Samut. Din il-lejla se tkun taħt il-patroċinju tal-President Emeritus Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. Tul is-serata li se tkun imżewqa b’qari ta’ poeżiji, bijografija dwar il-poeta u mużika, se jsiru diskorsi ta’ l-okkażjoni mill-President Emeritus Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici u d-diskors prinċipali minn Dr Adrian Grima.
Dr Adrian Grima (1968) jgħallem il-letteratura Maltija fl-Università ta’ Malta. Kiseb id-Dottorat b’teżi dwar ħames metafori li sawru l-immaġinarju nazzjonali fil-letteratura Maltija, fost l-oħrajn fil-poeżija ta’ Dun Karm. Fit-teżi tiegħu tal-Masters jiddiskuti l-Metafora tal-Vjaġġ fil-Poeżija ta’ Dun Karm u Oliver Friggieri.
Tkellem dwar il-letteratura, il-kultura u l-Mediterran f'konferenzi f'Malta, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, Ruma, Ċipru, Delfi, Pariġi, u Puerto Rico, u fl-universitajiet ta' Yale u Colorado at Boulder fl-Istati Uniti ta' l-Amerika. Xandar artikli kulturali u ta’ riċerka f’Malta, l-Italja u Franza.
Fl-1999 ippubblika It-Trumbettier, ktieb ta' poeziji bil-Malti, bi tpinġijiet u traduzzjonijiet għall-Ingliż. Dal-ktieb rebaħ it-tieni premju fil-Premio Tivoli Europa Giovani għal kotba ta’ poeżija ppubblikati fl-Ewropa fl-1999. Uħud mill-poeżiji tiegħu dehru f’antoloġiji fl-Italja, Franza, Ċipru, l-Iżrael, l-Olanda, u l-Ġermanja, u qara x-xogħlijiet tiegħu f’Malta, Ċipru, Delfi, Katanja, Ruma u The Hague.
Dr. Adrian Grima huwa l-koordinatur ta' l-inizjattiva kulturali Mediterranja Inizjamed u l-korrispondent Malti tal-website dwar il-kultura fil-Mediterran, Babelmed. http://adriangrima.cjb.net
Il-Kumitat Festi Nazzjonali jħeġġeġ lil kulħadd biex jattendi għal din is-serata. Id-dħul huwa bla ħlas.
Anton Miceli
Segretarju, Kumitat Festi Nazzjonali
Festival tal-Kittieba Emerġenti fil-Mediterran
5- 7 ta' Novembru, 2004
Nhar is-Sibt u l-Ħadd, 6 u 7 ta’ Novembru, 2004, se isir Festival tal-Kittieba Emergenti fil-Mediterran bis-sehem ta’ awturi minn Ċipru, l-Italja, il-Greċja u Malta fit-Teatru tal-Kavallier ta’ San Gakbu fil-Belt. Iż-żewġ lejliet tal-festival jibdew fis-7.30pm u kull lejla se jaqraw kittieba differenti. Kulħadd huwa mistieden biex jattendi u d-dħul huwa b’xejn.
Barra minn hekk, nhar il-Ġimgħa 5 ta’ Novembru wara nofsinhar u l-għada s-Sibt filgħodu se jsir seminar fil-Kavallier ta’ San Ġakbu dwar ix-xena internazzjonali tal-pubblikazzjoni u l-aċċess ta’ l-awturi li ma jiktbux bl-Ingliż għas-suq dinji tal-kotba.
Fil-proġett Klandestini saru għadd ta' sessjonijiet ta' taħriġ għal kittieba emerġenti fil-Mediterran. F’dawn is-sessjonijiet l-awturi tħarrġu fil-kitba kreattiva bil-lingwa tagħhom u bl-Ingliż taħt il-gwida ta’ tliet kittieba stabbiliti bbażati fir-Renju Unit, Sinéad Morrissey (għal Ċipru), Maurice Riordan (għal Malta), u George Szirtes (għall-Greċja).
Il-festival tal-Kittieba Emergenti fil-Mediterran u s-seminar dwar il-pubblikazzjoni huma parti mill-proġett ta’ kitba kreattiva “Klandestini” mmexxi minn Inizjamed u l-British Council.
Il-kittieba Maltin se ntgħażlu biex jieħdu sehem huma Clare Azzopardi, Stanley Borg, Norbert Bugeja, Priscilla Cassar, Maria Grech Ganado, u Adrian Grima. Adrian Grima se jaqra l-poeżija bl-isem ta’ “Distanzi”.
Għal aktar tagħrif dwar Klandestini ara l-website ta' Inizjamed u ta' Klandestini.
Malta International Poetry Festival 2004
Organized by The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts
Tuesday 14 - Thursday 16 September 2004
All readings at 8.00pm at St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity
Adrian Grima and leading Croatian writer Tonko Maroević will be reading their poetry at the VERS Malta International Poetry Festival 2004 on Wednesday 15 September at 8.00pm at the St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta.
The VERS festival starts on Tuesday 14 with readings by Maria Grech Ganado (Malta) and the Catalan poet Vinyet Panyella, and ends on Thursday 16 with readings by Victor Fenech (Malta) and Paola Turroni (Italy). All poetry events start at 8.00pm.
Adrian Grima's poems, "Distanzi," "Qamar?" "Asefru għal Poplu," and "Quddiem l-Ispiżerija tal-Gvern," have been translated into English by Maria Grech Ganado and will be read by actress Marcelle Teuma.
FULL PROGRAMME
Tuesday 14th September 2004
Poetry Reading at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity
Maria Grech Ganado (Malta) - Vinyet Panyella (Spain)
Wednesday 15th September 2004
Poetry Reading at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity
Adrian Grima (Malta) - Tonko Maroević (Croatia)
Thursday 16th September 2004
Press Conference at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity. Presentation of Memorandum to the Chairman of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, Prof Joe Friggieri
Poetry Reading at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity
Victor Fenech (Malta) - Paola Turroni (Italy)
All readings start at 20.00hrs. Poems will be read in the original version by the poets themselves and in English translation by Marcelle Teuma
After the readings the audience will have the opportunity to make interventions/questions to the poets.
Poems will be read in the original version by the poets themselves and in English translation by Marcelle Teuma. After the readings the audience will have the opportunity to make interventions and ask questions.
Entrance is free.
The Festival is being coordinated by Mr Immanuel
Mifsud, a leading poet and short story writer himself:
“Poetry is not only a creative end in itself but also a powerful tool for
raising awareness about the human condition. A poem is valued for its ability to
provide a heightened intellectual and emotional experience like other artistic
genres, and for its literary skills in achieving that end.”
The poems read during the festival and their versions in English have been collected in an anthology that will be on sale at Lm2 at St. James Cavalier.
According to Mr. Lino
Mintoff, artistic director of the Summer Cultural Activities Series 2004,
“The writing and reading of poetry is a civilising experience, making all of us
a little more perceptive, tolerant and thoughtful. This is the reason why the
Malta Council for Culture and the Arts decided to include this festival of
international poetry in this Series.”
The Poets
Tonko Maroevic, Maria Grech Ganado, Paola Turroni
Maria Grech Ganado (Malta)
Maria Grech Ganado published two collections of poetry in Maltese, Iżda Mhux Biss (But Not Only), which won the first prize of the National Literary Award for Poetry, and Skond Eva (According to Eve). In 2003 she published a collection of poems in English, Ribcage.
Several works by Maria Grech Ganado were translated into English, French and Italian. She has also won international poetry prizes.
Vinyet Panyella (Spain)
Vinyet Panyella was born in Sitges (Spain, Catalunya). To date she has written a total of twenty-six books, comprising poetry collections, books about art, literature, and cultural history, children’s fiction, biographies and essays. She won the Rosa Leveroni Prize for Poetry in 1993 and the Recvll Prize for Poetry in 1997.
Her recent works combine poetry, design and digital photography. Besides poetry and fiction, Vinyet Panyella has also compiled an anthology of contemporary Catalan women poets, Contemporànies Antologia de poetes dels Països Catalans, with a second edition to be out this year too.
Vinyet Panyella is a specialist on Catalan culture and avantgarde movements and was curator for a number of exhibitions.
Adrian Grima (Malta)
Adrian Grima is a lecturer in Maltese literature at
the University of Malta. He is the coordinator of the cultural organization
Inizjamed and the Maltese correspondent of the Babelmed.net website about
culture in the Mediterranean. His doctoral thesis dealt with
the creation of the Maltese national imaginary in Maltese literature. (Picture
by Carmel Bonello, 16.9.04)
Adrian Grima has read papers about Maltese literature, the Mediterranean and cultural activism at conferences and seminars in Europe, the USA and the Caribbean.
In 1999 he published It-Trumbettier, a collection of poems in Maltese with translations in English which placed second in the Tivoli Prize for books by Young European poets. His poetry has also appeared in publications in France, Italy, Israel and Cyprus. He is the editor of F’Kull Belt Hemm Kantuniera (Inizjamed, 2003) and other collections of contemporary Maltese literature.
Tonko Maroevic (Croatia)
Tonko Maroević was born in Split in 1941. He has lived, studied and worked in Zagreb with stays in Rome, Milan and Trieste. He is a recognised poet, literary critic and anthologist and is the author of a series of books on modern and contemporary Croatian artists.
Among his publications: Examples (1965), Geneviève as a Theme (1986), Profession: Sonnet Writing (1992,), Black and Light (1995) Tributes and Apologies (1986), Speculum adriaticum (1989), In Defense of Reproach (1988, essays); Bull’s Skin (1987, anthology of Catalan poetry) and Exclamations (1996, anthology of contemporary Croatian poetry, translated into several languages).
He has also translated into Croatian works of Dante, Petrarch, Cavalcanti, Lorca, Borges, Jarry, Sciascia and others.
Victor Fenech (Malta)
Hailed as one of the most prominent modern poets in Malta, Victor Fenech is a bi-lingual writer (Maltese and English) whose poems have been widely anthologised. Since his first co-authored anthology, Kwartett, in 1965, he has figured in seven new poetry collections; of these Altamira (1979) introduced the prosepoem in Maltese literature.
Poems of his were translated into Italian, German, Esperanto and French, and were published in international anthologies such as Orizzonte Senza Fine, Malet-Literatur aus Malta, Souffles, Poet India, Limestone 84 and Crosswinds.
Victor Fenech has also published a number of anthologies in the UK, such as London Pictures and other Poems, Today I waited, and Let Now Mdina Sleep, the latter had also a Dutch version Laat Mdina nu Slapen published in 2000.
Victor Fenech won the Golden Pen in 1974, and the National Literary Award for Poetry in 1997.
Paola Turroni (Italy)
Paola Turroni was born in Italy in 1971, and studied humanities and art.
In 2000, Paola Turroni published her first poetry collection, Animale. In 2003 she published a collection of short stories together with Sabrina Foschini, Due Mani di Colore, and another collection of poems Il Vincolo del Volo.
Paola Turroni holds regular workshops dealing with various communication forms and is also involved in theatre and cinema.
Immanuel Mifsud
Poets stress value of their work
The first international poetry festival of Malta, involving an Italian, a Spanish, a Croatian and three Maltese poets, ended at St James' Cavalier, in Valletta yesterday evening.
Named Vers, the festival was held over three evenings during which Victor Fenech, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, Tonko Maroevic, Vinyet Panyella and Paola Turroni read their pieces in front of an audience of about 50 people.
"The works were read out in the poet's respective native languages, where the audience could appreciate the sound and rhythm of the languages even if they did not understand. A reading of the poems translated into English took place after," Vers coordinator Immanuel Mifsud said.
Himself a poet, Mr Mifsud raised questions on the value of poetry in "today's society" as he read out a memorandum that the participants presented to the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts yesterday afternoon.
Poets struggled to make their voice heard in a society where different realities established different worlds, where the principal objective of most initiatives was consumerism and where poetry was deemed to be "dead and futile".
But besides being useful and important for them personally, the poets said their work had a collective value, especially when it was read out and "shared" with an audience as had happened during the festival.
The poets said they encouraged other such initiatives, including twinning poetry to other art forms, translating works into different languages and encouraging independent publications that did not follow mainstream publishing.
Arts council chairman Joe Friggieri said there were many young Maltese who wrote verse even though they had never really got any exposure. "These initiatives should encourage them to come forth and make their voices heard," Prof. Friggieri said.
(The Times, Friday, September 17, 2004)
Literair Paspoort International Poetry Festival
The Hague, September, 2004
Adrian Grima has been invited to represent Malta at the third edition of the Literair Paspoort International Poetry Festival in The Hague, The Netherlands, in September 2004. He will be reading his poetry at the residence of the Maltese Ambassador to The Netherlands, Mr. Adrian Strickland. The poems will also be read in Dutch translation.
In addition to its regular
Dutch-language festivals, the foundation ‘Dichter aan huis’ organized
international poetry festivals in 1998 and 2002. These festivals are called
‘Literair Paspoort’ (Literary Passport), and both festivals were highly
successful. In contrast to large-scale stage performances the festival formula
is to attain direct contact between poet and public.
Festival locations are twenty-four ambassadorial residencies or Embassies in the
city of The Hague, the government centre of the
Netherlands. 48 poets will participate in the festival, 24 from the countries
whose Ambassadors kindly allow the organizers to use their residency, and 24
Dutch and Flemish poets.
The theme of this year’s edition of Literair Paspoort is “United by Diversity – A Poetical Journey through Europe.” The organizers consider literature, and especially poetry, as “an excellent instrument to express the uniqueness of the various cultures within Europe.” The festival contributes to the mutual dialogue and exchange between the cultures of member states and candidate countries of the European Union and other European countries. “The festival offers the poets and the public alike the opportunity to obtain insight in patterns of similarity and dissimilarity.”
On the occasion of this international event a book of poetry (1500 copies) has been published with one poem of each participating poet in the original language and in Dutch translation. Adrian Grima's poem is "Distanzi." This and nine other poems which will be read at the residence of the Maltese Ambassador have been translated by Maarten Elzinga. These translations were commissioned by the ‘Dichter aan huis’ foundation.
All those present for the readings will receive a copy of the anthology and a hand-out containing all the poems read by the poet in the original language and in translation. Each one of the 24 foreign poets invited to the festival will read together with a Dutch or Flemish poet. After the readings there will be time for discussion between the poets and the public, and for enjoying the hospitality offered by the Embassy.
Adrian Grima’s participation in Literair Paspoort was made possible through the efforts of Mr. Alan Bugeja, First Secretary at the Embassy of Malta in The Hague.
The festival website is at
http://www.dichteraanhuis.nl/.
Dr. Grima's website is at
http://adriangrima.cjb.net.
L’élargissement : la définition
d’un
nouveau paysage culturel européen
Paris 17 mai 2004
In the context of the European enlargement, the Relais Culture Europe, the cultural contact point for France, association chaired by Mrs Catherine Lalumière, is organising a series of meetings between French cultural operators and cultural operators of the new member states on ‘cultural cooperation in enlarged Europe’.
Four meetings are planned according to the following calendar :
Marseille, April 27th 2004
Opening eastwards, what future for the euro-Mediterranean partnership?
Lyon, April 29th 2004
Towards a European cultural project
Nancy 14 may th 2004
The enlargement: towards new cooperation
Paris May 17th 2004
The definition of a new cultural European landscape.
Beyond the necessity of making operators aware of the transformations and the stakes of the opening to the East, our aim is twofold: first, we want to encourage the diffusion of a larger knowledge of national and regional realities of new Europe. And secondly, we wish to give participants the opportunity to meet some of their European partners in order to create enlarged mechanisms of cooperation.
Through these meetings, we hope to examine the current state of cultural cooperation and the existing mechanisms in the various entering countries. We intend to invite cultural operators from all the entering countries in order to give them the opportunity of presenting national cultural situation, activities and projects capable of creating a partnership with the French cultural sector and developing international cooperation. Around 150 professionals will be present in Paris on May 17th when Dr. Adrian Grima will be addressing those present about supporting contemporary creativity in Malta.
The Project Manager
Paris, le 5 mai 2004
Symposium on Cultural Memory and Literature
6-9 May 04 - University of Malta
A meeting of the delegates from European Universities taking part in the
project on "Cultural memory in European Countries: Difference and Identity
in a United Europe" (ACUME) will take place at the
University of Malta from the 6 to 9 May. This
symposium forms part of an original project funded by the European
Commission and steered by the University of
Bologna under the general direction of Professor Vita Fortunati, Professor
of Comparative Literature at Bologna University.
One of the main aims of this project is to investigate cultural memory in
the various European nations while exploring the notion of difference and
identity in a United Europe. The symposium which
will be addressed by nineteen speakers from various European
Universities including Bologna, Cardiff, Charles University, Prague,
Krakow, Estonia, Copenhagen, Warwick, Bucharest,
Limerick and six speakers from the University of Malta,
will focus in particular on the theme of "Bearing Witness: the
literary and documentary
expression of cultural identity."
Professor Peter Vassallo, Head of the Department of English and Director of the Institute of Anglo-Italian Studies, has been appointed convener of the Conference and chairman of the organizing committee. In September 2002, he was elected member of the steering committee which is based at the University of Bologna and which monitors and evaluates the various interdisciplinary projects approved by the European Commission, which include Cultural Amnesia, Landscape and Place, and Foundation texts and Mythology.
The title of Dr. Adrian Grima's paper is "Forging the National Imaginary in Maltese Literature."
"Despite her dark skin, her face was attractive"
Suppressing Identities in an Enlightened Malta
The eighth seminar in this year's Work in Progress Seminar Series, that is focusing mainly on Understanding Cultural Diversity, will be held on Wednesday between 6 and 7.30 p.m. at the Mikiel Anton Vassalli Conference Centre (Gateway), Room 104. Dr. Adrian Grima of the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta will be giving a talk entitled, "Despite her dark skin, her face was attractive" Suppressing Identities in an Enlightened Malta.
Hundreds of Maltese students preparing themselves to go University are once again studying Ġużè Aquilina’s supposedly enlightened novel Taħt Tliet Saltniet, published in 1938, a work which is giving these students a very particular vision of what it is to be Maltese in a rather uncritical academic environment that has not taken stock of the changes that have taken place over the past 65 years in the way we perceive and live identity.
The novel is set in the turbulent years between the collapse of the rule of the Knights of St. John brought about by the invasion of the French in 1798, and the arrival of the British in 1800; it deals with an important moment in the creation of a Maltese identity because in their uprising against the French, the Maltese displayed a national consciousness for the first time.
Aquilina’s reading of this historical moment is inevitably conditioned by his own particular ideology: despite the varied and multiethnic reality on the ground, especially in the urban centres, at the turn of the 19th century (and even in Aquilina’s own early 20th century), the novel constructs a Maltese identity that is completely dominated by elements that are typical of the perceptions of national identity of Maltese romantic literature, like the Roman Catholic faith and the idealized rural way of life and suppresses, or even excludes, other ways of “being Maltese”. For example, he only allows the Muslim slave “Il-Ħalwenija” the privilege of having a name, of being or becoming someone, when she converts to Christianity.
Maltese students who read this novel today must be aware of the crucial role played by language and literature in the construction of reality in general and national identity in particular. Many people in Malta seem to share Aquilina’s romantic views of national and cultural identity, and this is evident, for example, from the "oath" (Ħalfa) taken by a number of post-independence writers at the time of the EU referendum 2003. A “new” awareness is more important than ever now A "new" awareness of cultural identity is more important than ever now both because Malta has chosen to forge a new relationship with Europe and the Mediterranean, and also because it has to deal with the arrival of often "unwelcome" non-Europeans on its shores.
See also the full programme of the Works in Progress Seminar Series for 2004.
See also: The Sunday Times and The Malta Independent on Sunday (18 april, 2004)
"Diciotto poeti mediterranei uniti dall'amore per i versi,"
di Finetta Guerrera (La Sicilia, Sabato 20 marzo, 2004)
Front row, from left: Maram al Massri, Habib Tengour,
Eloy Santos, Ghjacumu Thiers, Adrian Grima, Mehmet Yashin
From left, Mimoza Ahmeti (Albania), Moncef Ghachem (Tunisia),
Eloy Santos (Spain), Angelo Scandurra
Adrian Grima f'Festival Mediterranju tal-Poeżija
L-organizzaturi
tal-festival internazzjonali tal-poeżija, "Voci del Mediterraneo" li se jsir
fiċ-Ċentru Kulturali Le Ciminiere ġewwa Katanja fid-19 u l-20 ta’ Marzu,
2004, stiednu lill-awtur Malti Adrian Grima biex jippreżenta wħud
mix-xogħlijiet tiegħu.
Fil-festival, li fih se jkun hemm ukoll mużika u kant etniku, il-poeżiji ta’ l- għoxrin awtur u awtriċi mistiedna se jinqraw bil-lingwa oriġinali u bit-Taljan. Dan l-avveniment qed jittella’ mill-Provinċja ta’ Katanja u jagħmel parti mill-festival "Etna Fest 2004" mifrux fuq għadd ta’ xhur.
Fost il-mistednin se jkun hemm il-poeta
Ċiprijott Tork Mehmet Yashin li dan l-aħħar qara x-xogħlijiet tiegħu ġewwa
ċ-ċentru kulturali tal-Castelliotissa ġewwa Nikosija f’Ċipru flimkien ma’
Adrian Grima u poeti oħra. Din il-lejla ta’ poeżija kienet parti
mill-konferenza internazzjonali dwar “Il-Kulturi tal-Memorja/Il-Memorji
tal-Kultura” li fiha Dr. Grima għamel taħdita dwar il-memorja personali u
kulturali fil-poeżija “Il-Ġnien” ta’ Henry Holland.
Iktar tard din is-sena, Adrian Grima se jkun wieħed mill-poeti mistednin mill-pajjiżi membri ta’ l-UE fil-festival Literair Paspoort li se jsir f’The Hague. Il-poeżiji tiegħu se jinqraw bil-Malti u bl-Olandiż.
Uħud mill-poeżiji ta’ Adrian Grima diġà dehru bil-Malti u tradotti f’lingwa differenti f’antoloġiji ppubblikati fl-Italja, Franza u l-Ġermanja. F’Settembru ta’ l-2003 huwa qara poeżiji minn tiegħu waqt il-konferenza tal-British Council dwar "Places and Spaces: Culture, Memory and Identity" li saret f’Delfi l-Greċja u li fiha għamel taħdita dwar il-“fabbrikazzjoni” ta’ l-identità Maltija fil-letteratura miktuba bil-Malti.
Dr. Adrian Grima jgħallem il-Malti fl-Università ta’ Malta. Huwa l-koordinatur ta’ l-organizzazzjoni kulturali Inizjamed u l-korrispondent Malti tal-website Babelmed.net li tiffoka fuq il-kultura fil-Mediterran.
L-10 ta’ Marzu, 2004
Ara wkoll
The Times (It-12 ta' Marzu, 2004) - The Malta Independent (Il-15 ta' Marzu, 2004)
di-ve.com (Is-17 ta' Marzu, 2004)
Adrian Grima invited to "Voci del Mediterraneo"
Adrian
Grima has been invited to take part in the festival "Voci del
Mediterraneo" at the Centro Culturale Le Ciminiere in Catania on 19-20
March, 2004. (Photo by Hubert Cini)
Twenty leading poets from various parts of the Mediterranean will read their works in their native language and in Italian. The two-day festival will also include performances of ethnic music and song. The festival is being organized by the Province of Catania and is part of the "Etna Fest 2004" series of cultural events.
The list of invited poets includes the Turkish Cypriot poet Mehmet Yashin who was recently invited to read his poetry, together with Adrian Grima and other poets, at the Castelliotissa former medieval church in Nicosia, Cyprus, during the international conference on Cultures of Memory/Memories of Culture, at which Dr. Grima read a paper about personal and cultural memory in a poem by Henry Holland.
Later on this year, Adrian Grima has been
invited to read his poetry at the important Literair Paspoort festival in
The Hague. Adrian Grima's poems will be translated into Dutch and published
in both Maltese and Dutch. Some of his poems have already been published in
Maltese and in translation in Italy, France and Germany.
In September 2003 he read some of his poems at a conference on "Places and Spaces: Culture, Memory and Identity" held in Delphi in Greece during which he presented a paper on the "Forging" of the Maltese identity in Maltese literature.
Dr. Adrian Grima is a lecturer in the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta. He is the coordinator of the cultural organization Inizjamed and the Maltese correspondent of the Babelmed.net website that deals with culture in the Mediterranean. [Read on]
7 March, 2004
See also
The Times (12 March, 2004) - The Malta Independent (15 March, 2004)
di-ve.com (17March, 2004)
International Conference on
Cultures of Memory/Memories
of Culture, organized by the Cyprus Society for
the Study of English (CYSSE) (University of Cyprus) in collaboration with
European Thematic Network Approaches to Cultural Memory (ACUME) 20-22
February, 2004, Nicosia, Cyprus
Savage Boys and the Predatory Woman in Holland's Garden
Adrian Grima
In a poem called “Il-Ġnien” (The
Garden), the Maltese poet and short story writer Henry Holland revisits the
public garden where he spent much of his childhood. The poet is aware that
his personal memories of “savage boys hunting” like the “Indios of the
Amazon” are conditioned by the formal and informal education he received as
a boy before and after Malta became independent in 1964. But these “loaded”
childhood memories are also conditioned by his uneasy relationship with “the
woman” whom the gardener identifies with the male-eating “praying mantis” or
“mantis religiosa” in the last line of the poem. In a way, Holland’s
memories are not really his memories: his perception or understanding
of “the woman” (a “praying mantis”) and of himself (like “savage” Indios) is
a perpetuation of the stereotypes of the dominant culture. In the poem, he
attempts to distance himself from these stereotypes: he can smile at the
titles of the books from his childhood education,
'Look & Learn', 'Untamed World',
but when it comes
Poetry Reading - From left, Adrian Grima, Maria Thoma, George Moleskis,
Stephanos Stephanides, Mehmet Yashin, Niki Marangou, and Jenan Selchouk
to dealing with the “predatory” woman he is in no mood to poke fun. The association of the public garden of his childhood with the Garden of Eden where the male was betrayed by the female reminds the reader that in Malta, both culture and memory are heavily influenced by the Catholic religion.
See the full programme on the Conference website
At the Poetry Reading held during the Conference at the CASTELLIOTISSA HALL, Paphos Gate, Adrian Grima read his poem "Distanzi" in Maltese and in English ("Distances," translated by Maltese poet Maria Grech Ganado). The other writers who took part were Mehmet Yashin, Niki Marangou, Stephanos Stephanides, Maria Thoma, George Moleskis, and Jenan Selchuk.