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 Nhar
is-Sibt, 23 ta’ April, fis-7.30pm, fl-Imħażen ta' Caraffa, ix-xatt
tal-Birgu, għadd ta’ awturi ewlenin, artisti, atturi u mużiċisti, se jieħdu
sehem fil-lejla “Ktieb għall-Ħruq.” Id-dħul għal din l-attività huwa b’xejn.
“Ktieb għall-Ħruq” qed tittella' fil-Jum Dinji tal-Ktieb minn
Inizjamed, bi sħab mal-Kunsill Lokali tal-Birgu u bl-appoġġ tal-Cottonera
Waterfront Group
L-awturi kollha li se jieħdu sehem huma Clare Azzopardi,
Stanley Borg, Norbert Bugeja, John Buttigieg, Priscilla Cassar, Claudia
Fiorini, Miriam Galea, Maria Grech Ganado, Sergio Grech, Adrian Grima, Henry
Holland, Simone Inguanez, Roderick Mallia, Immanuel Mifsud, Walid Nabhan,
Ġużè Stagno, u Leslie Vassallo. Minbarra li se jaqraw xogħol letterarju ġdid
bil-Malti, l-awturi mistednin se jitkellmu fil-qosor dwar ktieb li laqathom.
 Barra minn hekk, fis-6.30pm, għadd ta’ żgħażagħ li jattendu
kulleġġi post-sekondarji, se jaqraw ix-xogħol tagħhom bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż.
Se jkun hemm ukoll interventi mużikali marbutin mat-testi letterarji minn
Esmeralda Galea Camilleri fuq l-arpa u Maria Bonnici fuq il-flawt.
Għal dan il-proġett, l-artist Raphael Vella ħejja
installazzjoni marbuta mat-tema tal-kotba (hawn fuq jidhru
Dettalji mix-xogħol tiegħu, "Mass
Weapon of Self-Destruction"),
waqt li l-atturi Annabelle Galea, Marion Zammit, Claire Zerafa, Dominic
Dimech, u Kevin Attard, taħt id-direzzjoni ta' Marcelle Teuma, se
jippreżentaw ix-xogħol ta' Clare Azzopardi, "Jien ix-Xhud."
 Waqt
l-attività se jitnieda l-ktieb bix-xogħlijiet ta’ l-awturi editjat minn
Adrian Grima u ddisinjat mill-artist Pierre Portelli. Dakinhar biss,
il-ktieb se jinbiegħ bi prezz speċjali. Wara jkun għall-bejgħ, fost
l-oħrajn, minn Sapienzas Bookshop tal-Belt Valletta, li qed jagħtu l-appoġġ
tagħhom lil din l-inizjattiva.
L-Imħazen ta’
Caraffa
L-Imħazen ta’ Caraffa max-xatt tal-Birgu inbnew fl-1689 fuq ordni
tal-Granmastru ta’ l-Ordni tal-Kavallieri ta’ San Ġwann Gregorio Caraffa.
Dan il-bini fih għadd ta’ swali b’soqfa ġejjin għat-tond mifruxin fuq tliet
sulari. Fis-sular t’isfel kien hemm il-maħżen ewlieni tax-xwieni,
b’provvisti kbar ta’ ħbula, drappijiet u ħwejjeġ oħra għall-bastimenti
tal-gwerra u dawk tal-merkanzija li kienu jidħlu fil-Port il-Kbir. Fl-ewwel
sular kien hemm l-uffiċċji amministrattivi ċentrali tal-port u ta’
l-attività marittima. Fit-tieni sular, li minnu tista’ toħroġ ukoll
għat-triq fuq in-naħa ta’ wara ta’ l-Imħażen, kienu jgħixu l-fizzjali ta’
l-iskwadri tax-xwieni.
Skond
il-Perit Michael Ellul, fl-1818 dan il-bini kollu fil-Marina Grande
tal-Birgu għadda f’idejn il-Flotta Navali Brittaniku u l-Imħażen ta’ Caraffa
waqgħu f’idejn l-uffiċjal tal-Flotta inkarigat mill-provvisti ta’ l-ikel u
bdew jissejħu l-Imħażen tal-Kaptan. L-imħażen ta’ l-ikel tal-Flotta Navali
li kien hemm max-xatt tal-Birgu setgħu jerfgħu biżżejjed ikel għal 10,000
għax sitt xhur.
Il-Ħruq ta’ Don
Francesco Gesualdo u l-Kotba
L-istorja tal-belt tal-Birgu hija marbuta sew ma’ l-istorja
tal-kotba f’Malta, kemm minħabba l-għadd ta’ skejjel u studjużi li kien
hemm, kif ukoll minħabba l-ħruq tal-kotba pprojbiti fi żmien
l-Inkwiżizzjoni. Każ traġiku kien dak ta’ Don Francesco Gesualdo, membru
Franċiż ta’ l-Ordni tal-Kavallieri ta’ San Ġwann li kellu skola fil-Birgu.
Fl-1563, fuq inizjattiva ta’ l-Isqof Cubelles, Don Francesco nstab ħati
mill-Inkwiżizzjoni li kien qed jaqra u jqassam kotba Luterani. Dan wassal
biex ħarquh ħaj fil-pjazza tal-Birgu u ħadu passi kontra min kien qed jaqra
l-istess kotba tiegħu.
L-istoriku Carmel Cassar isostni li sa l-aħħar tas-seklu
sittax, minkejja li l-qari tal-kotba kien infirex sewwa minħabba t-twelid
ta’ l-istampar, “il-Knisja Kattolika, permezz ta’ l-Inkwiżizzjoni,
irnexxielha tikkontrolla l-ħajja, u l-ħsibijiet l-aktar mistura, tan-nies
f’Malta.” Fuq ordni ta’ l-Inkwiżitur Evangelista
Carbonese, ngħidu aħna, fil-5 ta’ Mejju, 1609, fil-pjazza tal-Birgu, inħarqu
għadd ġmielu ta’ kotba ta’ kull tip, inkluż xogħol dwar il-matematika ta’
Tolemew u kotba tal-kittieb Franċiż François Rabelais.
L-istorja tal-kotba f’Malta hija wkoll imtappna mill-każ
magħruf ta’ għadd ta’ attivisti politiċi xellugin li fl-1933 ittellgħu
l-Qorti mixlija li kienu qed jaqraw kotba “sedizzjużi,” kotba li jħajru
lill-Maltin biex iqumu kontra l-ħakkiema Ingliżi u l-amministrazzjoni
tal-pajjiż, u jheddu t-twemmin tan-nies u l-awtorità tal-Knisja.
Minnu nnifsu, il-ktieb jimraħ f’oqsma ġodda u joħloqhom hu
stess, jesplora perspettivi u realtajiet mhux magħrufa u mhux aċċettati u
għaldaqstant jisfida “s-sewwa magħruf” u l-ordni stabbilit. Ivan Callus
jgħid li l-kotba jesprimu t-tamiet u l-beżgħat tal-bnedmin, u
l-ambizzjonijiet bla limiti u l-assurdità tad-delużjonijiet kbar tagħhom.
Il-kotba jlissnu kurżità li ma tistax titrażżan, u dejjem jesprimu t- tiftix
bla waqfien tal-bniedem.
Minħabba f’hekk, il-kotba dejjem ixellfu difrejhom mal-poter
politiku, soċjali u kulturali ta’ komunità, u sikwit jiġi rrifjutati qabel
ma jistgħu jiġu ppubblikati. F’dawn l-aħħar xhur, uħud mix-xogħlijiet li se
jinqraw waqt “Ktieb għall-Ħruq” sabu ruħhom f’din is-sitwazzjoni għax
twarrbu minn istituzzjonijiet u djar tal-pubblikazzjoni mhux minħabba
n-nuqqas ta’ kwalità imma minħabba li jittrattaw temi skomdi b’lingwa
letterarja li tipprova tirrifletti dik it-tematika.
Għaldaqstant, din l-attività hija maħsuba għal udjenza
matura.
Għal aktar tagħrif ara l-website ta’
Inizjamed,
www.inizjamed.org
jew ikteb lil
inizjamed@maltaforum.org.
Adrian Grima
Il-15 ta' April, 2005 |
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“Ktieb għall-Ħruq” at Caraffa
Stores in Vittoriosa
Saturday, 23 April, 2005, 6.30pm
and 7.30pm
On Saturday, 23 April, at 7.30pm,
a number of writers, artists, actors and musicians will come together at
Caraffa Stores on the Vittoriosa waterfront to present an evening of new
literature in Maltese called “Ktieb għall-Ħruq.” Entrance to all events,
which are being coordinated by Inizjamed, is free.
The writers who will be reading
their previously unpublished works in Maltese are Clare Azzopardi, Stanley
Borg, Norbert Bugeja, John Buttigieg, Priscilla Cassar, Claudia Fiorini,
Miriam Galea, Maria Grech Ganado, Sergio Grech, Adrian Grima, Henry
Holland, Simone Inguanez, Roderick Mallia, Immanuel Mifsud, Walid Nabhan,
Ġużè Stagno, and Leslie Vassallo. They will also be saying a few words
about a book that they have found particularly inspiring.
Music, Art and Theatre
Before these readings, at 6.30pm,
six budding writers will be reading their works in English and Maltese.
Both sets of readings will be accompanied by music played by UOM Junior
College students Esmeralda Galea Camilleri on harp and Maria Bonnici on
flute.
During the first set of readings
at 6.30pm, well-known artist Raphael Vella will be presenting his
installation which has been prepared specifically for this literary event
which is celebrating World Book Day. Clare Azzopardi’s short story “Jien
ix-Xhud” will be presented by five actors, Annabelle Galea, Marion Zammit,
Claire Zerafa, Dominic Dimech, and Kevin Attard, under the direction of
Marcelle Teuma.
During the event Inizjamed will be
launching the book, edited by Adrian Grima and designed by Pierre
Portelli, which includes the works that are being read on Saturday. The
book will be on sale at a special discounted price. After the event it
will be on sale at outlets such as Sapienza’s bookshop in Valletta, which
is supporting this event.
Books and Don Francesco
Gesualdo at the Stake
The maritime city of Vittoriosa,
or Birgu, is intimately tied to the story of books in Malta, both because
of the number of schools and scholars associated with this city port in
early modern times and because of the burning of prohibited books by the
Holy Office of the Inquisition which was based in Vittoriosa. One tragic
case was that of Don Francesco Gesualdo, a French member of the Knights of
St. John, who ran a school in Vittoriosa. In 1563 the Inquisition found
Don Francesco guilty of reading and distributing prohibited Luteran books
and burned him at the stake as a heretic in the main square in Vittoriosa.
Historian Carmel Cassar argues
that by the end of the 16th century, despite the fact that the
reading of books had spread thanks to the invention of printing, “the
Catholic Church – through the workings of the Inquisition – had managed to
control the lives, and most inner thoughts, of Malta’s inhabitants.” On
the order of the Inquisitor, Evangelista Carbonese, on May 5, 1609, a
large number of books, including works by Ptolemy and Rabelais, Jewish
books and the Koran were burned in the main square of Vittoriosa.
It is in the very nature of books
to venture beyond the “known world,” or even to create new worlds
themselves. Books provide unusual and othen unorthodox perspectives and
realities and therefore they inevitably clash with “common knowledge” and
the established order. Ivan Callus writes about “books’
articulation of humanity’s hopes and fears, its overreaching ambitions and
the absurdism of its delusions, its irrepressible inquisitiveness and,
always, its ceaseless questing.”
Because of their intrinsically
daring nature, books often clash with prejudice and with the powers that
be, be they are political, social, cultural or religious. Often they are
rejected by publishers before they can even make it to the book shelves.
This is what has happened to some of the Maltese works that will be read
on Saturday evening. They were rejected not because they are not good
enough but because they tackle unsettling themes and they try to create
their own unsettling literary language.
“Ktieb għall-Ħruq” is therefore
meant for a mature audience.
This event is being organized by
Inizjamed, in collaboration with the Vittoriosa Local Council and with the
support of the Cottonera Waterfront Group.
For more information
visit
www.inizjamed.org
or write to
inizjamed@maltaforum.org.
Adrian
Grima
Coordinator, Inizjamed |
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Il-Ħtieġa
tax-Xokk fil-Letteratura!
(riflessjonijiet
dwar il-pubblikazzjoni –
Ktieb għall-Ħruq-
Inizjamed (2005)
Hemm impressjoni li donnha qed tistenbaħ tinstiga l-ħtieġa li l-letteratura
tkun waħda punġenti. Jien minix ngħid li dan m’għandux ikun hekk, arti li ma
tqanqalx m’hix arti jew arti bin-nieqes. Li ma nistax nifhem hu l-fatt li
l-enfasi ma jidhirx li qiegħed fuq il-bżonn li titqajjem kuxjenza, jew li
tinkixef dik il-parti ta’ umanità li teħtieġ purifikazzjoni, imma fuq
id-djalettika magħżula bħala bażi għal diskors jew riflessjoni letterarja.
Meta ngħid dan qed nirreferi għal dak il-lessiku magħżul biex iweġġa', biex
jisfronda il-kuxjenza valutattiva li ma tinbidilx. Għax hemm valuri li
jgħaddi kemm jgħaddi żmien ma jinbidlux… jista’ jkun li l-modalità ta’ kif
jidhrulna tinbidel għax jinbidel iż-żmien u maż-żmien ninbidlu aħna wkoll,
imma l-prinċipji ewlenija ma jinbidlux. Huwa f’dan il-kwadru li nixtieq li
naraw il-problematika taċ-ċensura. Fil-fehma tiegħi ċ-ċensura hija
eżerċizzju awtomatiku li jseħħ mill-individwu kull meta jiġi biex jagħżel
bejn ħaġa u oħra. Li nitħaddtu dwar iċ-ċensura istituzzjonalizzata naħseb li
nkunu qed naqbżu stadju li jħejji għal din l-imġiba nazzjonali, stadju li
jqarreb lil individwu lejn l-inħawi l-iżjed profondi tal-kuxjenza tiegħu,
fejn id-deċiżjonijiet jittieħdu il-ħin kollu. F’dan is-sens jekk
individwalment jirnexxielna nkejlu dak li jista’ jitkejjel u ngħarblu dak li
hemm x’jingħarbel, allura fuq skala akbar (dik istituzzjonali) ir-riżultat
ikun it-tgħaqqid ta’ dawn id-deċiżjonijiet flimkien.
Fi Ktieb għall-Ħruq l-antikonformiżmu jidher li sar retorika
ripettitiva, għad li nazzarda ngħid meħtieġa. L-enfasi m’għandux ikun fuq
l-att finali (dak li ċ-ċensura tiżżarma biċċa biċċa) imma fuq il-mixja
evoluttiva lejn maturazzjoni ġenwina li twassal għal dan il-għan. Fl-istess
waqt nifhem li l-proċess huwa twil u qajla tista’ tqisu xi darba mitmum…
il-bniedem huwa bħal akrobata li dejjem jibbilanċja fuq ħabel irqiq minn
naħa għal oħra tat-triq. Nuqqas ċkejken ta’ konċentrazzjoni jista’ jkun
fatali. L-etika fid-diskors, fir-rappurtaġġ ta’ l-aħbarijiet lokali u
internazzjonali, id-drittijiet ta’ dawk li jinsabu fiċ-ċentri korrettivi,
il-mod kif jiġu ppreżentati programmi biex jinġabru flus għal membri
tas-soċjetà fil-bżonn… eċċ, dawn u aktar huma temi li jitolbu dan il-bilanċ
‘akrobatiku’ il-ħin kollu. Nibża’ li meta qed nippruvaw inħarsu lejna
fil-mera qed insibu distakk qalil bejn dak li nixtiequ nkunu u dak li
fil-fatt aħna. Il-pressjoni konsumista, li bħal kamla tawwar fil-fond sakemm
tiekol kollox, qed therri is-sisien li fuqhom għandha tkun mibnija soċjetà
b’saħħitha. Forsi hawn ta’ min jiffoka mill-ġdid fuq l-għeruq, id-dimensjoni
tal-limitu, il-mottif ta’ lilhinn. Mhux hekk qiegħed jiġri meta sseħħ xi
traġedja?… wara l-11/9 ħafna kienu dawk li daru dawra madwarhom u ssuktaw
jistaqsu dwar l-eżistenza tagħhom u t-tifsira warajha. Dan, biex norbot ma’
li għidt aktar kmieni seħħ u jibqa’ jseħħ fil-livell persunali u bl-ebda mod
ma’ jinstiga emoreġija soċjali jekk mhux fuq medda twila ta’ żmien. Il-fatt
li qed niċkienu f’sens soċjali jfisser li qed nikbru fl-għarfien ta’ kemm
neħtieġu reviżjoniżmu soċjali u għax soċjali storiku u kulturali (mhux għala
Derrida!) ta’ kulma rnexxielna nsarrfu bħala kultura kitsche.
John Buttigieg
2 ta’ Awwissu 2005 |
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THE NEW WAVE WRITERS
Ktieb għall-Ħruq.
Adrian Grima, editur. Inizjamed, 2005. 77pp. ISBN 99932-620-4-8
F’kull belt hemm
kantuniera: il-belt fl-immaġinarju Malti. Adrian Grima, editur.
Inizjamed, 2003. 77pp. ISBN 99932-620-3-0
Now seven years old,
Inizjamed is a literary society that has already made a perceptible impact
on our young authors and readers and is now coming more forcibly than before
to the attention of older readers. Older authors like Victor Fenech and
Maria Grech Ganado have already been associated with its activities, and the
support and encouragement of organizations like the British Council in Malta
and Unesco as well as small groups like Moviment Graffiti and Ċentru Fidi u
Ġustizzja have enabled Inizjamed to extend its literary work to a number of
areas. As its leanings are mainly socialist and humanistic, many of its
member authors, though not all, try to extend their interests well beyond
personal relationships and their interior life.
Following in the footsteps
of older authors like Oliver Friggieri, Joe Friggieri, Mario Azzopardi and
Lillian Sciberras, they also go beyond our geographical limitations by
creating contacts with foreign authors in Malta or away, one of their
regular activities being participation in the international biennale
organized by an international group of young European and Mediterranean
artists.
Inizjamed’s leading light,
Adrian Grima, is rapidly making a name for himself, and other young authors
like Immanuel Mifsud and Ġuże Stagno have produced some striking and indeed
ground-breaking work, while an older writer like Grech Ganado has now
established herself as one of a small group of this country’s leading poets.
Grima has edited for
Inizjamed a small volume of verse and prose bearing the title “Kitba
għall-ħruq”, not perhaps a milestone work such as the now classic
anthologies of the late Sixties and early Seventies pioneered by authors
like Victor Fenech, but certainly one of which anyone having even a
superficial interest in Maltese literature needs to take notice. In his
introductory essay, Grima reminds us that while book-burnings such as the
one ordered by the Inquisitor in Malta in 1609 (which included books by
Rabelais as well as mathematical treatises) are a thing of the past,
censorship of various sorts was experienced in Malta throughout the last
century and is still not unknown today. In his concluding paragraph he says
that some of the works in the present volume had fallen foul of institutions
and publishers who disapproved of the “inconvenient” themes they try to
explore.
The designers of the book
cover have suggested simply but strongly the fate some writings can encounter
in our own day.
The verse of authors such
as Stanley Borg, Priscilla Cassar and Henry Holland has surely never been in
danger of being banned or mutilated and Maria Grech Ganado’s two short poems
(both also published in her recent volume of Maltese verse) too could also
be given place in a mainstream anthology. Clare Azzopardi’s “Jien ix-xhud”,
on the other hand, is stronger meat both in its vocabulary and in its “in
yer face” attitude to the theme of a woman’s deep unhappiness in a
dysfunctional marriage. Her suicide is brought in obliquely but strongly and
Azzopardi’s comment on the rate of failures in contemporary Maltese
marriages is bitter. The piece is not in verse but in what Victor Fenech has
called “poeproża” and some of its imagery remains imprinted in the reader’s
brain.
In “Ramallah” Adrian Grima
uses, relatively speaking, a more traditional style, his theme being the
humiliations and suffering of the Palestinian people in Israel, and is
dedicated to a small number of Palestinian dancers whom Grima met when they
performed in Malta. Much of the poem’s strength derives from its frequently
elliptical style which often hints at indignation being kept under control.
Of the prose items,
Immanuel Mifsud’s “Kumpanni tal-Ordni tal-Mertu” (also published in his
recent collection Kimika) is amusingly satirical about media persons,
some of whose models are easily recognizable, as well as about the society
that regards such people so highly. Ġużè Stagno is not quite original when
he sidepasses a bout of writer’s block by writing, quite amusingly, about
his experience of what authors dread so much and his envy of fellow-authors
who seem to be utterly free from it.
“Il-Mutu” by Walid Nabhan
(a name quite new to me) is an intriguing piece about the narrator’s
obsession with a work-companion who seems to have no friends, does not say a
word to anyone, and has a pair of green eyes that mesmerize him. He appears
to be a deaf-mute until one day, a day of agitation and pain for this man,
he utters one word, “Mietet.” The man remains mysterious, but the narrator
now has a clue about his strange companion’s psyche. Is the author a native
Maltese speaker? Perhaps not, as he uses words like “ġabbara” which is
obsolescent, and on the other hand colloquialisms like “iħħajġakjani” which
are clumsy. Nabhan appears to be a beginner who is certainly promising but
needs to learn more about style.
F’kull belt hemm
kantuniera, published two years ago, is more stimulating intellectually
than Ktieb għall-Ħruq. The volume’s theme is authors’ perception of the
town and its publication formed part of Inizjamed’s Belt (u Miti)
project. Apart from some often arresting verse and prose by authors like
Stanley Borg, Simone Inguanez, Bernard Cauchi and Clare Azzopardi, the
volume includes a very thoughtful and original-minded paper by the young
anthropologist Mark Anthony Falzon, “Xi riflessjonijiet fuq l-identità”, and
another one, “Fejn hemm il-poter hemm ir-reżistenza: in-nisa fi żmien
l-Inkwiżizzjoni” by James Debono who is a specialist on the history of the
Inquisition in Malta.
Falzon tackes the theme of
Maltese identity, one that has been discussed, often boringly or
irritatingly at a dozen seminars or conferences, Very sensibly he feels that
we do not “lose our identity” as some intellectuals fear; an identity is
constantly evolving and changing, in any country or society. As to the fear
that by becoming cosmopolitan we stop being Maltese, Falzon asks why it
should be impossible to have more than one co-existing identities. After
all, we see ourselves as both European and Mediterranean people, Maltese and
also Valletta or Mosta people, Cottonera people and also Birgu or Senglea
people.
Another perceptive comment
by this writer refers to our perception of geographical space which is
normally limited by the horizon around our small shores. This feeling of
isolation is shattered whenever on a clear day we can see Mount Etma and the
shores of Sicily, and we take a curious delight in any report in the media
relating to a Maltese person, however minor, who has done something
interesting, or to whom something unusual has happened, overseas. He also
reminds us that those of our people who choose to speak in English rather
than in Maltese are just as Maltese as the remainder: they have made a
choice that seems sensible to them in the Maltese context. Some may not like
this view, but it is a sensible one.
James Debono’s very
readable paper makes a number of points, but the basic one is that in the 17th
and 18th centuries Maltese women in the Inner Harbour area were
asserting their identity by being economically self-supporting or by
achieving neighbourhood fame as “wise women” (often called “sħaħar” or
witches by the common people) or as “living saints” the phrase used by
Cassar. The former were regarded as dangerous by the Church, while the
latter appeared to be forming a close relationship with the supernatural
independently of the Church, something the Church again did not approve of.
As women have always been the most fervent members of the Church, the
ecclesiastical authorities channelled the spiritual energies of women into
becoming :devout women. “The Church used to emphasize women’s role as
mothers who obeyed both their husband and their confessor. This was a time
when devotions such as saying the rosary, wearing scapulars and possessing
holy pictures became ever more popular. And in these devotions women found a
new channel of expression.”
Adrian Grima’s
introduction skilfully synthesizes the ideas in these two papers as well as
the various literary items. Personally I found Stanley Borg’s “Bejn ħajja u
mewt” with its portrait of people in a contemporary town, living a seemingly
pointless life without the consolations of religion (“f’dan il-Ħadd ta’ żewġ
gazzetti u bla quddies”) engrossing, a 21st century Maltese Mr
Prufrock. Clare Azzopardi, whose “Felli, felli” gives a vivid account of the
women writers’ movement within Inizjamed to explore language and create one
that has not been imposed by men, joins up with Claudia Fiorini to write
“Taħt l-inċirata”, a work in mixed verse and prose about an unhappy
(three-cornered? I am not sure) relationship. Azzopardi’s narrative prose
represents the young man, lustful but also genuinely in love, and is
convincing enough in its psychological approach, whilst Fiorini’s verse is
erotically lyrical. The atmosphere of this piece, like that of many of the
other pieces in this volume, is , as one has come to expect today, not
bubbling with the joys of love, but gloomy with unfulfilled expectations.
Bernard Cauchi’s “Kieku
kont hi” is a long dramatic monologue written in grotesque mode. The speaker
is Francesca, a woman from a rundown area of Valletta or some other town
clearly several decades ago – her mother still wears an għonnella.
Daughter of a prostitute, who surprisingly has a taste for the music of
Brahms, she appears to be heading towards the same trade. The climactic
scene is when the hugely fat Antoine erupts into her house and has sex with
her, and she realizes all he wants is to have the money she has hidden in
the house. The strange old house, the narrator’s unstable mental balance,
and the comments of Francesca’s callous and malicious neighbours, create a
phantasmagoric picture of life in an urban society that is sleazy and
uncharitable.
Paul
Xuereb
The Sunday Times,
25 September, 2005 |
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