Inizjamed Blue White@0.5x
Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta Malta / Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival
Inizjamed

2011 edition

Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival

organised by Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers

THE ARAB SPRING

DIGNITY AND FREEDOM

Thur 8, Frid 9, Sat 10 Sept, 2011 – Garden of Rest, Floriana, 8.00pm

(close to the Floriana Central Public Library)

Entrance free

Invited writers:

Yasser Abdellatif (Cairo, Egypt) | Awlad Ahmed (Tunisia)

John Aquilina (Malta) | Stéphane Chaumet (France)

Mona El Shemy (south Egypt)|Tarek Eltayeb (Sudan/Egypt/Austria)

Simone Galea (Malta) | Niki Marangou (Cyprus)

Albert Marshall (Malta) | Myriam Montoya (Colombia)

Rasha Omran (Syria) | Mohamed-Salah Omri (UK)

Robin Yassin-Kassab (Syria/UK) | Abdelrehim Youssef (Alexandria, Egypt)

Guest musicians:

Jes Psaila, Luke Briffa, Alan Portelli (CUSP)

Effie Azzopardi, Leonard Caruana, Eric Santucci,

Gilbert Vassallo, Ryan Buttigieg (In Beat)

with the support of the EU Culture programme, Malta Arts Fund, Din l-Art Ħelwa,

The British Council, Middlesea Insurance plc, Fondation René Seydoux,

Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (BUKK),

European Commission Representation in Malta, Ambassade de France à Malte

Festival banner by Pierre Portelli

Dwar il-Festival / About the Festival

Garden of Rest / Ġnien il-Mistrieħ, Floriana

The writers will also be taking part in the LAF Malta Literary Translation Workshop 2011

Design

Pierre Portelli and Darren Tanti

Coordination

Adrian Grima, supported by Clare Azzopardi, Claudia Gauci, Maria Grech Ganado, Immanuel Mifsud, Nadia Mifsud, Walid Nabhan, Darren Tanti

Alexandra Büchler is director of Literature Across Frontiers.

Inizjamed is a registered voluntary non-governmental cultural organization founded in 1998 in Malta that is committed towards the regeneration of culture and artistic expression in the Maltese Islands and actively promotes a greater awareness of the cultures of the Mediterranean. Inizjamed is a secular, non-partisan organization that acknowledges that every generation must seek to create its own language and both respond to realities of its day and look beyond them.

With the support of

Festival Programme – Ġnien il-Mistrieħ, il-Furjana, 8.00pm

p r o v i s i o n a l

Thursday 8 Sept

John Aquilina (poetry)

Abdelrehim Youssef (poetry)

Photos of the revolution in Alexandria and a short documentary by Hend Bakr called “Out of Focus”

Myriam Montoya (poetry)

Tarek Eltayeb (poetry and prose)

Live music: CUSP, with Jes Psaila (guitar), Luke Briffa (drums), Alan Portelli (bass)

Friday 9 Sept

Mona El Shemy (prose)

Stéphane Chaumet (poetry and prose)

Awlad Ahmed (poetry)

Niki Marangou (poetry and prose)

Albert Marshall (poetry)

Live music: In Beat, with Effie Azzopardi (trumpet), Eric Santucci (guitar), Leonard Caruana (bass) and Ryan Buttigieg (drums)

Saturday 10 Sept

Simone Galea (poetry)

Yasser Abdellatif (poetry and prose)

Mohamed-Salah Omri (prose)

Rasha Omran (poetry)

Robin Yassin-Kassab (prose)

All writers from the other nights on stage to read one short piece

Live music: In Beat, with Effie Azzopardi (trumpet), Eric Santucci (guitar), Leonard Caruana (bass) and Gilbert Vassallo (drums)

Mediterranean Literature Festival and the Arab Spring of Dignity

8-10 September, Garden of Rest, Floriana, 8.00pm

Leading writers from nine countries and top Maltese musicians will perform at the sixth annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, the biggest so far, on Thursday 8, Friday 9 and Saturday 10th September, 2011, at the Garden of Rest in Floriana, between the Floriana Central Public Library and Ospizio. This year’s edition will focus on “The Arab Spring: Dignity and Freedom” and will present an exciting array of literary genres and languages, unique voices, photographs and a short documentary on the revolution in Alexandria.

All evenings will feature live, mostly original jazz music, by Effie Azzopardi and his band In Beat and a trio formed by Jes Psaila, Alan Portelli and Luke Briffa. There will also be food, drink and specialised books for sale. The readings, which are meant for a mature audience, start at 8.00pm, and entrance to all events is free.

Thursday – “Out of Focus”

The poems and short stories will be read mainly in Maltese and English, but also in the native languages of the various writers. The writers reading on Thursday are the London-based Maltese poet John Aquilina, who published his first collection, Leħnek il-Libsa Tiegħi in 2009; the Egyptian poet from Alexandria Abdelrehim Youssef, who will also be showing pictures of the Egyptian revolution in Alexandria in which he was very much involved; the well-known Colombian Paris-based poet Myriam Montoya, who writes in Spanish, and the Arabic language poet and novelist Tarek Eltayeb (in picture), who lives in Vienna, and was brought up in Egypt by a Sudanese father and Egyptian mother. Live music on Thursday will be provided by the recently set up jazz trio called CUSP, with Jes Psaila on guitar, Luke Briffa on drums and Alan Portelli on bass.

Another important item in the programme on Thursday is the projection of photographs taken during the revolution in Alexandria, Egypt, by Egyptian photographers, and a short documentary by the young female director Hend Bakr called “Out of Focus.” These will be introduced by the Alexandrian writer Abdelrehim Youssef. Hend Bakr says that she chose this title for two reasons: firstly, because the film is based on monitoring the revolution through the eyes of two photographers, Mohamed El-Hadidi and Abdalla Dawstashy; and secondly because of the nature of what the cameras monitor, that is incidents which are clear but not complete, reflecting the many questions about the future, and the present.

Friday – Special Maltese guest Albert Marshall

Friday’s readings will be by the short story writer Mona El Shemy, who comes from Southern Egypt, the French poet and novelist Stéphane Chaumet, whose first novel that deals with the Algerian War of Independence has been reviewed by the French press, including L’Humanité and Le Monde; and the major Greek Cypriot poet and novelist Niki Marangou.

The leading Tunisian poet Awlad Ahmed will also read on Friday. He was imprisoned in his country’s jails for short periods because of his writings and his cultural activities which were directed at exposing fundamentalism and the one-state-party before the Tunisian revolution. He is the author of a well-known poem about Mohamed Bouazizi, the young man who set himself and the Arab world on fire in December 2010 and died because of the injuries he suffered.

The last writer readng on Friday is poet Albert Marshall (in picture), who has recently published a Maltese-English bilingual collection called Jumping Puddles and is this year’s special Maltese guest writer. Effie Azzopardi and his band will be playing standard and original jazz tunes.

Saturday – Robin Yassin-Kassab and The Road from Damascus

The writers reading on Saturday 10th September are Simone Galea, author of the recently published collection of poetry, Xi Drabi Mqar Persuna; the Cairo-based Yasser Abdellatif, who has recently been in Canada writing poetry and prose; Syrian poet Rasha Omran, who lives in Damascus; Oxford University lecturer, translator and writer Mohamed-Salah Omri; and Robin Yassin-Kassab, author of the acclaimed novel The Road from Damascus (who will also be interviewed by Dr. Albert Gatt), On Saturday all writers from the other nights on stage to read one short piece, and Effie Azzopardi and his band will introduce the evening with their music and bring it to a close with a small concert.

On the three nights, there will be food and drinks for sale served by the volunteers of the socially committed Third World Group. A book stand will be selling books by Maltese and foreign authors, and special publications about the Arab revolutions.

The Festival coincides with the sixth annual Malta LAF Literary Translation Workshop, led by Alexandra Büchler, director of Literature Across Frontiers, during which the participating writers will translate each other’s works.

In collaboration

This annual international literary festival, the only one held in Malta, is being organised by Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers with the support of the Culture Programme of the EU, Malta Arts Fund, Din l-Art Ħelwa, The British Council, the European Commission Representation in Malta, and Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, and the French Embassy in Malta.

More information about the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, Inizjamed and Literature Across Frontiers is available at www.inizjamed.org.

Adrian Grima, Coordinator, Inizjamed

Literature Across Frontiers is a programme of initiatives aiming to advance European cultural exchange in the field of literature and translation through multilateral cooperation within a network of partner organisations on activities encompassing research and analysis, publication, translator training and skills development, joint participation in international book fairs, literature festivals and other forums, organisation of larger-scale projects, as well as conferences, seminars and workshops. The programme aims to:

advance intercultural dialogue through literature and translation within the EU and with third countries, and in particular with EU neighbours in the Mediterranean region;

improve access to lesser-known literatures, particularly those written in less widely-used languages of Europe and underrepresented in the international arena;

encourage greater diversity in international literary events and in the publishing of literature for all age groups;

develop innovative approaches to literary creation, promotion, support for translation and training of literary translators working in less widely-used languages;

act as a catalyst for new multilateral contacts, collaborations and innovative projects bringing literature into interaction with other art-forms and exploring the social and political role of writing;

stimulate debate on relevant policy and financing at national and European level;

create opportunities for the exchange of ideas, transfer of skills and knowledge, and sharing of experiences and resources amongst organisations and institutions active in this field.

The Writers

Yasser ABDEL-LATIF (novelist, poet, scriptwriter, translator; Egypt) is the author of two poetry collections; the latest Nocturnal Round was published in 2009. His first novel Law of Inheritance won the 2005 Sawiris Prize in the young authors category.

Abdel-Latif has also edited the short story collection Half Past Seven on Wednesday Evenings and his articles and translations have appeared in numerous magazines. He is also a scriptwriter; his screen credits include No One Came Back (2007), The Eagle Road (2004), and An Upright Citizen from Maadi (2002).

A selection of his work translated into English appears here: http://iwp.uiowa.edu/writers/archive/2009bios.html

JOHN AQUILINA was born in Attard, Malta, in 1977. He studied sciences at De La Salle College in Birgu, Malta, and then at the University of Malta.

In 2000 he left Malta to further his studies in Mathematics at Cambridge and Bath, where received his Ph.D in 2005. Since then he has been working at an Investment Bank in London.

John Aquilina started writing poetry in 1994, mostly in Maltese, but recently also in English. The female is conceived as a mystery, and death itself as female, in many metaphors he employs. The solitude (the absence of the other) and silence (the absence of sound) that characterize physical travel become for this author a voyage inwards.

HIs first collection of poetry in Maltese, Leħnek il-Libsa Tiegħi (Your voice my only clothing), appeared in 2010 (Edizzjoni Skarta), and he is currently preparing a volume of translations and poems in English.

Awlad Ahmed founded of the Tunisian House of Poetry in October 1993. He graduated from the High School of Cultural Animators in Tunisia in 1977, and started studying Psychology at the University of Reims, France, but did not complete the course.

He was in charge of several cultural pages and supplements in Tunisian newspapers and magazines and founded and issued the first and last edition of “House of Poetry” in 1995. His work “The Commandment” was made into a theatre play in 2004. He is also the co-author of the play Alqaz Money together with the National Theatre of Tunis.

Some of his poems were turned into songs performed by Tunisian and Arab singers and musicians. His first collection of poems Song of the days of the Year was confiscated and banned from 1984 to 1988. He was imprisoned in his country’s jails for short periods because of his writings and his cultural activities which were directed at exposing fundamentalism and the one-state-party. He left the house of Poetry due to disagreements with the government, accusing it of taking over the functions of the House.

Currently he writes articles for weekly and monthly magazines in Tunisia and the Arab World. Many texts of Awlad Ahmed have been translated into French, English, German, Dutch and Italian.

He has participated in several Arab and international festivals of poetry in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bonn, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Strasberg, Grenoble, Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Tripoli, Amman, Baghdad, and Sharjah.

STÉPHANE CHAUMET est né en 1971 à Dunkerque. A vécu aux États-Unis, au Mexique, en Syrie et en Chine.

Il a publié un roman, Même pour ne pas vaincre (Le Seuil, 2011) et les livres de poésie Dans la nudité du temps (L’Oreille du Loup, 2007), Urbaines miniatures (L’Oreille du Loup, 2007), La traversée de l’errance /La travesía de la errancia (La Cabra, México, 2010).

Il a traduit plusieurs poètes latino-américains (Pura López Colomé, Myriam Montoya, Alberto Blanco…) et espagnols (Olvido García Valdés, Leopoldo María Panero…) ainsi que la poète allemande Hilde Domin et la poète iranienne Forough Farrokhzad.

Il a été invité à de nombreux festivals internationaux en Amérique latine, en Europe et en Afrique.

MONA EL SHEMY is a novelist and short stories writer. Born in south of Egypt.

She studied Egyptology at the University of Cairo and working now as a teacher for history.

She published three novels: The Winner Side, Cairo 2008; The Arawla Rose, Cairo 2006; A fugitive color from the Rainbow, Cairo 2003.

Mona El Shemy has also published three short stories: Nostalgia Secretes, Cairo 2010; From the Hole of the Needle, Cairo 2009; and If the light flooded, Sharja, UAE 2008.

She has received numerous awards: The central culture places award for Writers under 35 years, the award of the middle and south Upper Egypt for the novel, B.B.C award for short stories, Sharja Award in UAE, Cultural Dubai Award and others.

TAREK ELTAYEB was born to Sudanese parents in Cairo in 1959. He has been living in Vienna since 1984. After studying at the Institute for Economic Philosophy of Vienna’s University of Economics, he is currently teaching at three universities in Austria.

He has been writing since 1985 and has so far published two novels, two collections of short stories, five collections of poems, and one play in Arabic.

His books have been published in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Macedonian, Romanian and Serbian translations.

His poems have appeared in different languages in various literary anthologies, magazines, and journals worldwide.

He has been granted numerous major fellowships like the Elias Cannetti Fellowship of the City of Vienna in 2005 and was awarded the International Grand Prize for Poetry 2007 at the International Festival Curtea de Argeş in Romania.

In 2008, he was appointed Austrian Ambassador for the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue (EJID). In the same year, he received the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria.

He is a faculty member of the International Writing Program Between the Lines at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, USA.

His last two poetry collections have been published in Beirut in 2010 (We Sold the Ground and Were Happy with the Dust) and in Cairo in 2011 (Not Sin).

He has presented his work at many international literature festivals. http://www.eltayeb.at/

SIMONE GALEA (1967) started writing poetry at a young age but published her first book of poetry, Xi Drabi Mqar Persuna in 2011. Her first book for children, Il-Metamorfosi tal-Mamà is also being published in 2011. She is currently working with other writers and artists on various writing projects.

Simone Galea is senior lecturer in Philosophy of Education the University of Malta where she has been teaching for the last fifteen years. After obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Malta she was awarded a bursary at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, where she completed her PhD studies. Her academic areas of specialization include feminist philosophies, philosophies of difference particularly related to research with migrant students, narrative inquiry and the use of literary texts in the development of teachers and their concepts of teaching.

She has taught in primary state schools and Maltese language and literature in secondary and higher secondary schools. She is married and has two children.

NIKI MARANGOU was born in Limassol, Cyprus 1948. Studied sociology in West Berlin from 1965-70. Worked for ten years as dramaturg at the State Theatre of Cyprus. From 1980-2007 she was directing KOCHLIAS BOOKSHOP in Nicosia.

She has published books of prose, poetry and children’s fairy tales and won state prizes for her literary work. In 1998 she wan in Alexandria the Cavafy prize for poetry. She is a member of the Hellenic Authors Society and the Cyprus Writers Assosiation. In 2006 she received the poetry award from the Athens Academy for her book DIVAN.

In May 2008 her book THE DEMON OF LUST was chosen by DIAVAZO REWARDS in Athens as among the ten best short stories of the year. In 2004 her poem “Roses” was chosen to be hung in waiting rooms in NHS Hospitals in the UK. Her poems are included in the “European constitution in verse” of the Brussels Poetry Collective (2009) and in the cd «Nachrichten von der Poesie» (Random House) edited by Joachim Sartorius.

She had seven exhibitions of her work in painting. She lives in Nicosia and has a daughter who is a painter. http://www.marangou.com

ALBERT MARSHALL (Malta, 1947) was educated at the University of Malta, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. His first publication was Dħaħen fl-Imħuħ, an anthology of ‘new wave’ poetry, with Oliver Friggieri and Gorg Borg as co-authors.

While in London, he edited and published his collection of poetry, Rumminiet Jittewbu minn wara s-Sejjieħ. In 1976, a collection of his poetry appeared in Poeziji ta’ Mħabba, co-authored with Joe Friggieri and Oliver Friggieri.

Albert Marshall emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in January 1981. During his fifteen years in Australia, he worked in Australian film, radio, theatre, and television.

He was active in Melbourne’s literary circles and his literary work was published in various multicultural literary magazines and journals, including various poetry anthologies that featured the works of Australian-Maltese authors.

In 1990, Albert started pursuing an academic career at Victoria University in Melbourne. After finishing reading for his Masters degree in Communication Studies, he was offered tenure as full-time lecturer at the University. In 1995, Albert was drawn back to Malta by an offer from the University of Malta: the University contracted him as a lecturer and as the Managing Director of University Radio. Between 1995 and 2004, Albert occupied various senior executive posts related to the Maltese media. After a one-year stint establishing distance-learning broadcasting at University Radio, Albert was appointed Chief Executive of the National Broadcaster, PBS Ltd., a post he occupied until 1999.

In 1997, Albert published Diaspora, a collection of his poetry. Albert’s literary and academic work has been published in Australia, Canada and Malta. In 2010 he co-authored Battuti għal Inżul ix-Xemx (with Charles Scerri and Ivan De Battista). Jumping Puddles (2011) is Marshall’s latest collection of poetry, a bilingual publication (Maltese & English).

MYRIAM MONTOYA (Colombia 1963) After a Masters in Latin American literature at the Sorbonne in 1994, Montoya embarked immediately on a successful literary career in Paris, publishing four books of poetry, an anthology of her work and several Spanish translations of French poets and female poets from Africa and the Middle East. She has published her poems in journals from Colombia, Cuba, France, Morocco, Mexico, Canada and Spain, and has been invited to a handful of international poetry festivals. She is presently co-director of the publishing house of world poetry, L’Oreille du Loup.

Born in Bello, Antioquia, Montoya took her first steps as a writer in the literary workshop of the great novelist from her region, Manuel Mejía Vallejo. But it was the poet Jaime Jaramillo Escobar, the legendary X-504, considered as one of the major nadaísta poets and one of the most important in the country, who initiated her into poetry and its mysteries. Reading poetry aloud under his guidance, from a young age Montoya experimented with the hidden meaning of words which, thrown to the wind, could become electric sparks.

After obtaining her undergraduate BA degree, she moved to Paris, where she was rapidly discovered by the great French Hispanist Claude Couffon, who translated her first books, Fugas (Flights) and Desarraigos (Uprootings). Later, her work was translated by the French poet Stéphane Chaumet.

RASHA OMRAN is a Syrian poet with a degree in Arabic literature from Damascus University.

Since 1997 she has published four collections of poetry: Rajaa Lahu Shakal al-Haya; Ka’ana Manfay Jasady; Thilak al-Mumatad Fi Aqsa Hanini and Ma’atif Ahmar Faragh as well as compiling an anthology of Syrian Poetry.

Rasha Omran is the director of the annual Al-Sindiyana festival of culture in Syria.

http://www.banipal.co.uk/contributors/60/rasha_omran/

MOHAMED-SALAH OMRI is Lecturer in Modern Arabic Literature and Tutorial Fellow of St. John’s College at the University of Oxford.

He has also taught at Washington University in St. Louis in the US and University of Exeter in Britain, where he was Director of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies.

His publications include: Trade and cultural exchange in the early modern Mediterranean: Braudel’s maritime legacy (London: I.B. Tauris, 2010) in collaboration with Maria Fusaro and Colin Heywood; Nationalism, Islam and World Literature: sites of confluence in the writings of Mahmud al-Mas’adi (London and New York: Routledge, 2006); The Novelization of Islamic Literatures: the intersections of Western, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Turkish Traditions, a special issue of Comparative Critical Studies (4:3 (2007); and two books with Professor Abdeljalil Temimi. Dr. Omri also writes occasional interventions in the culture and politics of Tunisia, the Maghreb and the Mediterranean more widely.

ROBIN YASSIN-KASSAB was born in west London in 1969. Except for six months in Beirut, he grew up in England and Scotland. He has lived and worked in London, France, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Oman. His first novel, The Road From Damascus, was published in 2008 by Hamish Hamilton and Penguin, and by il Saggiatore in Italy. He is also a co-editor and regular contributor to PULSE, recently listed by Le Monde Diplomatique as one of its five favourite websites. His blog can be found at www.qunfuz.com. Qunfuz is the Arabic word for ‘hedgehog’ or ‘porcupine’. In his June 17th blog, anticipating an article which appeared in The Guardian, he wrote the following:

“Last January Syria seemed, along with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, to be amongst the least likely candidates for revolution. If President Bashaar al-Asad had run in a real election, he may well have won.

It’s difficult remembering it today: most Syrians did grudgingly credit the regime with ensuring security and prosecuting a vaguely nationalist foreign policy. It’s that keen desire for security, the overwhelming fear of Iraq-style chaos, which keeps a section of Syrians fiercely loyal to the regime even now.

To start with, although they were inspired by revolutions in Tunisa and Egypt, most protestors didn’t aim for regime change. The first demonstration – in the commercial heart of Damascus – was a response to police brutality. That one ended peacefully, but when Dera’a protested over the arrest of schoolchildren the regime spilt blood. Outraged, communities all over the country took to the streets, and met greater violence, which swelled the crowds further. A vicious circle began to spin. All the intelligence, and the nationalist pretensions, peeled away from the government to reveal a dark and thuggish core.”

ABDELREHIM YOUSSEF was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1975. He works as an English teacher in a governmental primary school, and he is the Visibility Responsible in Gudran Association for Art and Development.

An Egyptian slang poet with many published poems in several literary periodicals and three published books of poetry: “Poems Dead with Heart Failure” – 2008, “From the Blue Period” – 2009 and “A Cat, a Sainte and a Fairy” – 2010. He has written songs and shared in dramatizing more than 12 theatrical shows from 2000 to 2010. He has been an assistant editor for the three issues of Meena, a bilingual literary magazine since 2005.

He has managed several literary and cultural meetings in Alexandria, and he has been lately the responsible of cultural and literary activities in El Cabina Library, Alexandria.

He is married to the Alexandria short story writer “Omayma Abdel-Shafy” and has a son called “Yehia” (2007). www.abdelrehimyoussef.blogspot.com

ALEXANDRA BÜCHLER (UK/Czech Republic) was born in Prague and was educated there, in Thessaloniki and Melbourne, Australia. She has lived in Great Britain since 1989. She is the founding director of Literature Across Frontiers, a European Platform for Literary Exchange, Translation and Policy Debate, and has served on the board of Culture Action Europe (formerly European Forum for Arts and Heritage) and of the Translators’ Association UK.

She is editorial director of Transcript Europe’s Online Review of International Writing www.transcript-review.org, and editor of the international series of contemporary poetry anthologies New Voices from Europe and Beyond at the UK-based Arc Publications. A translator of fiction, poetry, theatre plays and texts on modern art and architecture from English, Czech and Greek, she has translated over twenty-five works, including books by authors such as J. M. Coetzee, David Malouf, Jean Rhys, Janice Galloway and Rhea Galanaki into Czech. She has also edited and part-translated a number of anthologies, including This Side of Reality: Modern Czech Writing (1996), Allskin and Other Tales by Contemporary Czech Women (1998). Her most recent publications are A Fine Line: New Poetry from Central and Eastern Europe, Arc (2004) and Six Czech Poets, Arc (2007), and poetry by Patrick McGuinness published in Czech in 2009.

Guest Musicians

CUSP

Formed earlier this year, CUSP (in picture, right) play jazz standards with original arrangements which move away from the traditional sound together with some of their own original compositions.

The trio is made up of Luke Briffa on drums, Alan Portelli on bass and Jes Psaila on guitar. The musicians are not new to the local scene, each with a diverse musical background, but together sharing a common interest in improvised music.

IN BEAT

The musicians in this band (in picture, below) all play individually with other artists and in different bands. They are Effie Azzopardi (trumpet), Eric Santucci (guitar), Leonard Caruana (bass), and Gilbert Vassallo and Ryan Buttigieg (drums).

Putting together their different musical background and styles, such as jazz, pop, rock and blues, the band hopes to give an original, enjoyable sound. They shall be performing jazz standards and a couple of Maltese popular songs with jazz arrangements.

Effie Azzopardi started studying music at an early age. His first important experience on stage was performing as part of the brass quartet called The Bond Horns, which together with other local bands performed on various occasions.

Effie has played the trumpet with different bands. He was involved in recordings and TV programmes and has also had the opportunity of performing in live concerts abroad.

Jazz being his favourite type of music, he currently performs with jazz quartets at different jazz venues where he enjoys playing with his friends.

(In the photo, from left, Leonard Caruana, Effie Azzopardi, Gilbert Vassallo, Eric Santucci)

Msida Bastion Historic Garden, FLORIANA

Extract from Heritage Fragments

by Joe Azzopardi

Published by Din l-Art Helwa 2010

Ġnien il-Mistrieħ, Floriana

The annexation of Malta to the British Empire revived the Island’s reputation as a cosmopolitan centre and its harbours further evolved as a considerable trade centre in the Mediterranean. This attracted many foreigners, some of whom died here and, of course, they were not all Roman Catholics. A large number were, in fact, Protestants from Britain and elsewhere in Europe, and smaller numbers of other Christian denominations, as well as Jews and Moslems, who could not be buried in Catholic cemeteries.

For a time, most burials of Protestants from Britain took place, in a sporadic fashion outside the Valletta bastions overlooking Msida Creek until appropriate cemeteries had been established in the area. This resulted in a conglomeration of beautiful burial grounds, alongside the already existing plague cemeteries. Unfortunately, of the Quarantine, Cholera and Greek Orthodox cemeteries, only evidence of the latter remains, and this with just a lone monument dedicated to Lady Catherine Hanley. Most of the others were cleared when the first Excelsior Hotel project began taking shape.

The only surviving cemetery in the area is the Msida Bastion Cemetery. The earliest monument recorded here dates back to 1806 but it did not become a separate consecrated cemetery until 1843 and it was hardly used after 1857, when Ta’ Braxia cemetery was opened in Pietà. So far, some 530 burials have been more or less definitively recorded, but the number must have been greater. This cemetery was for the use of the British military, civil officials and members of the commercial community, together with their families.

It was hit by a bomb in WWII, and largely abandoned for several years. Research into the history of the Msida Bastion Cemetery was first carried out by James Cannon and published, together with a detailed list of the burials, in 1990. The cemetery has now been restored by a team of dedicated volunteers from Din l-Art Helwa, who took up the work begun by Reginald Kirkpatrick. The restoration project was awarded a Europa Nostra Silver Medal in 2002.

Incidentally, one of the most illustrious burials at Msida Bastion was not that of a British citizen but of Mikiel Anton Vassalli (1764-1829), long considered the father of the Maltese language. Vassalli died in absolute poverty on 12 January 1829 aged 65. His burial here was arranged by a number of British personalities, chief among whom was the Hon John Hookham Frere (1769-1846) who met all the expenses. The facts leading to Vassalli’s entombment at Msida Bastion are rendered in the words of the Reverend C F Schlienz:

“As Mr. Vassalli never made profession of being a protestant we would have him buried in a Catholic burial place. However, when we presented him, for reasons that Vassalli had never been legally married (he could not marry regularly as he had taken minor orders) he ought therefore to be put among the dishonest at the wayside without any ceremony. To this we would not consent, and with the consent of the relict and the sister of the deceased [we] applied to Government for a licence to bury him in the Protestant burial place”.

Garden of Rest, Floriana

Formerly known as the Msida Bastion Cemetery, this served as a Protestant cemetery from 1806-56. It was restored over a period of ten years and was awarded the Silver Medal by Europa Nostra in 2002. A small museum was added in 2004.

This was the main Protestant cemetery in Malta for about fifty years from 1806. Records show that at least 528 people were buried here and it was more or less full in 1856 when Ta’ Braxia Cemetery was opened. The principal occupants are British servicemen, officials and businessmen and their families, some of whose ancestors still live in Malta today, as well as some Maltese.

The most famous Maltese buried here was Mikiel Anton Vassalli, known as the father of the Maltese language, who died on 12 Jan 1829, aged about 64. He was not on good terms with the local Catholic church and had translated the New Testament into Maltese against the wishes of the church. His wife was later also buried here in 1851.

The cemetery lies in the bastion formerly known as St Philip’s Bastion, part of Floriani’s outer defence works commissioned by Grand Master Antoine de Paule in 1635. On the higher ground above the bastion stood the gallows used by the Order. During World War Two the Cemetery was hit by bombs and part of the bastion wall at the far end and some graves were damaged.

The Cemetery was protected by a low wall until 1988 and much was vandalised and destroyed by wind and weather. Vegetation covered the graves and split the stones apart. In 1930 Capt Charles Zammit in his report on this cemetery commented that the great majority of the inscriptions were damaged and indecipherable. In 1988 the Minister of Education, Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici declared that the site was to be restored and opened to the public as a garden. A high wall and gate were built and extensive work was carried out by volunteers from Din l-Art Helwa. The original project leader, Mr R.G. Kirkpatrick died in 1988 and interest waned but in 1993 Dr Andy Welsh revived interest in the project and work proceeded steadily thereafter.

The restoration was awarded the Silver Medal by Europa Nostra in 2002. In 2004 a small Museum of Maltese Burial Practices was opened in the building adjacent to the garden by the Minister of Tourism and Culture Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech and Director General of the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland Mrs. Fiona Reynolds.

(from the Din l-Art Ħelwa website)

Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta

Programm tal-Festival – PROVVIŻORJU

Il-Ħamis,

8 ta’ Settembru

John Aquilina (poeżija)

Abdelrehim Youssef (poeżija)

Myriam Montoya (poeżija)

Tarek Eltayeb (poeżija u proża)

Mużika: Jes Psaila fuq il-kitarra, Alan Portelli fuq il-bass u Luke Briffa fuq id-drums (CUSP)

Il-Ġimgħa,

9 ta’ Settembru

Mona El Shemy (proża)

Stéphane Chaumet (poeżija u proża)

Awlad Ahmed (poeżija)

Niki Marangou (poeżija u proża)

Albert Marshall (poeżija)

Mużika: Effie Azzopardi, Leonard Caruana, Eric Santucci,

Gilbert Vassallo, Ryan Buttigieg (In Beat)

Is-Sibt,

10 ta’ Settembru

Simone Galea (poeżija)

Yasser Abdellatif (poeżija u proża)

Mohamed-Salah Omri (proża)

Rasha Omran (poeżija)

Robin Yassin-Kassab (proza)

L-awturi kollha tal-Festival jitilgħu fuq il-palk biex jaqraw xogħol wieħed qasir

Mużika: Effie Azzopardi fuq it-trumbetta, Leonard Caruana fuq il-bass, Eric Santucci fuq il-kitarra, Gilbert Vassallo fuq id-drums (In Beat)

Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura u r-Rebbiegħa Għarbija

8-10 ta’ Settembru, 8.00pm, Ġnien il-Mistrieħ, il-Furjana

Kittieba u mużiċisti ewlenin minn disa’ pajjiżi se jieħdu sehem fit-tlitt lejliet tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta nhar il-Ħamis 8, il-Ġimgħa 9 u s-Sibt 10 ta’ Settembru fit-8.00pm, fi Ġnien il-Mistrieħ bejn il-Librerija Pubblika Ċentrali tal-Furjana u l-Ospizio. Kull lejla se jkun hemm mużika jazz live, u ikel, xorb u kotba speċjali għall-bejgħ.

Din is-sitt edizzjoni se tiffoka fuq Ir-Rebbiegħa Għarbija: Ħelsien u Dinjità, u fiha se jieħdu sehem, fost l-oħrajn, kittieba mill-Eġittu, it-Tuneżija u s-Sirja. Il-qari se jkun l-aktar bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż, iżda se jintużaw ukoll il-lingwi tal-kittieba differenti. Il-kitbiet huma maħsuba għal udjenza matura u d-dħul huwa b’xejn.

Il-kittieba li se jaqraw il-Ħamis huma l-poeta Malti li jgħix Londra John Aquilina, li fl-2009 ħareġ il-ktieb Leħnek il-Libsa Tiegħi; il-kittieb u attivist Eġizzjan minn Lixandra Abdelrehim Youssef, li se jkun qed juri ritratti meħudin minn fotografi Eġizzjani waqt ir-rivoluzzjoni f’Lixandra; il-poetessa magħrufa Kolombjana li tgħix Pariġi Myriam Montoya, li tikteb bl-Ispanjol; u l-poeta u rumanzier magħruf li jikteb bl-Għarbi Tarek Eltayeb, li jgħix Vjenna imma trabba l-Eġittu minn missier Sudaniż u omm Eġizzjana. Il-Ħamis se jdoqq it-trio tal-jazz CUSP, li għandu lil Jes Psaila fuq il-kitarra, Alan Portelli fuq il-baxx u Luke Briffa fuq id-drums. Il-Ħamis se jintwera wkoll id-dokumentarju tad-direttriċi żagħżugħa Eġizzjana Hend Bakr bl-isem ta’ “Out of Focus,” ibbażat fuq ir-ritratti u l-filmati meħudin minn Mohamed El-Hadidi u Abdalla Dawstashy.

Il-Ġimgħa 9 ta’ Settembru se jaqraw in-novelliera min-nofsinhar tal-Eġittu Mona El Shemy; il-poeta u rumanzier Franċiż Stéphane Chaumet, awtur ta’ rumanz li ntlaqa’ tajjeb mill-kritiċi u gazzetti bħal L’Humanité u Le Monde; il-kittieba importanti Ċiprijotta Niki Marangou; u poeta ewlieni Tuneżin bl-isem ta’ Awlad Ahmed, li għamel xi żmien maqful il-ħabs minħabba l-kitbiet tiegħu. Huwa l-awtur ta’ poeżija magħrufa dwar Mohamed Bouazizi. Il-mistieden speċjali tal-Ġimgħa se jkun il-poeta Albert Marshall, li għadu kemm ippubblika l-ġabra bilingwi Jumping Puddles. Il-grupp tal-jazz li se jdoqq huwa In Beat ta’ Effie Azzopardi.

Is-Sibt se jaqraw il-poetessa Simone Galea, li m’ilux ippubblikat il-ktieb Xi Drabi Mqar Persuna; l-awtur mill-Kajr Yasser Abdellatif li dan l-aħħar għamel bosta xhur jikteb fil-Kanada; il-poetessa Sirjana minn Damasku Rasha Omran; il-kittieb, traduttur u lecturer mill-Università ta’ Oxford Mohamed-Salah Omri; u r-rumanzier Ingliż ta’ nisel Sirjan Robin Yassin-Kassab, li kiteb rumanz li għamel suċċess bl-isem ta’ The Road from Damascus u se jkun intervistat minn Dr. Albert Gatt). Is-Sibt ukoll l-awturi kollha li qraw fl-ewwel żewġ lejliet jitilgħu fuq il-palk biex jaqraw xogħol wieħed. Il-grupp mużikali li se jdoqq se jerġa’ jkun “In Beat” ta’ Effie Azzopardi.

Fil-ġimgħa tal-Festival se jsir ukoll Laboratorju Internazzjonali tal-LAF tat-Traduzzjoni Letterarja mmexxi minn Alexandra Büchler, direttriċi ta’ Literature Across Frontiers, li fih il-kittieba mistiedna jittraduċu x-xogħlijiet ta’ xulxin.

Dan il-festival letterarju internazzjonali annwali, l-uniku wieħed li jsir f’Malta, huwa organizzat minn Inizjamed u Literature Across Frontiers bl-appoġġ tal-programm Kultura tal-UE, Malta Arts Fund, Din l-Art Ħelwa, The British Council, ir-Rappreżentanza tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea f’Malta, il-Ministeru Federali tal-Edukazzjoni, l-Arti u l-Kultura, u l-Ambaxxata Franċiża f’Malta.

Hemm tagħrif dettaljat fuq www.inizjamed.org.

Adrian Grima

Koordinatur, Inizjamed

Jieħdu sehem

YASSER ABDEL-LATIF (rumanzier, poeta, kittieb tal-iskripts, u traduttur mill-Eġittu) huwa l-awtur ta’ żewġ ġabriet ta’ poeżiji. L-iktar ġabra riċenti, li ġġib l-isem Nocturnal Round (Ronda Notturna) ġiet ippubblikata fl-2009. Fl-2005, l-ewwel rumanz tiegħu, Law of Inheritance (Liġi tal-Wirt) rebaħ il-Premju Sawiris fil-kategorija tal-kittieba żgħażagħ.

Abdel-Latif huwa wkoll l-editur ta’ ġabra ta’ stejjer qosra li ġġib l-isem Half Past Seven on Wednesday Evenings (Is-Sebgħa u Nofs tal-Erbgħa Filgħaxijiet). Artikli u traduzzjonijiet minn tiegħu dehru f’diversi rivisti. Huwa jikteb ukoll għaċ-ċinema u għat-televixin. Fost ix-xogħlijiet tiegħu f’dan il-qasam hemm No One Came Back (Ħadd Ma Ġie Lura, 2007), The Eagle Road (It-Triq tal-Ajkli, 2004), u An Upright Citizen from Maadi (Ċittadin Onest minn Maadi, 2002).

Jekk trid taqra siltiet bl-Ingliż tax-xogħlijiet tiegħu, mur fuq din il-paġna: http://iwp.uiowa.edu/writers/archive/2009bios.html

JOHN AQUILINA twieled Ħ’Attard, Malta, fl-1977. Studja x-xjenza fil-Kulleġġ De La Salle fil-Birgu, u mbagħad fl-Università ta’ Malta.

Fl-2000 siefer biex ikompli l-istudji fil-matematika fl-Universitajiet ta’ Cambridge u Bath, minn fejn ħa d-dottorat fl-2005. Wara beda l-professjoni tiegħu f’bank tal-Investiment f’Londra, fejn għadu sal-lum.

John Aquilina beda jikteb il-poeżija fl-1994. Il-biċċa l-kbira tal-kitbiet tiegħu huma bil-Malti, imma jikteb ukoll bl-Ingliż. Il-mara bħala misteru, u l-mewt li hi wkoll mara, huma metafori ewlenin fil-kitba tiegħu. Is-solitudni (in-nuqqas ta’ xi ħadd) u s-skiet (in-nuqqas tal-ħoss) li jgħaddi minnhom kull min jivvjaġġa isiru għal dan l-awtur vjaġġ ġewwieni. In-noti li jħalli vjaġġ bħal dan huma l-poeżija.

L-ewwel ġabra ta’ poeżiji ta’ John, Leħnek il-Libsa Tiegħi, tlestiet fl-2010, u bħalissa qed jiġbor volum ta’ traduzzjonijiet u kitbiet bl-Ingliż.

AWLAD AHMED waqqaf id-Dar tal-Poeżija f’Tuneż f’Ottubru 1993. Huwa ggradwa mill-Istitut tal-Animaturi Kulturali tat-Tuniżija fl-1977, u beda jistudja l-Psikoloġija fl-Università ta’ Reims fi Franza, iżda ma spiċċax il-kors.

Huwa kien responsabbli għal diversi paġni kulturali u supplimenti f’gazzetti u rivisti Tuniżini. Kien ukoll il-fundatur u l-editur tal-ewwel u l-aħħar edizzjoni ta’ “House of Poetry” (“Dar il-Poeżija”). Ix-xogħol tiegħu “The Commander” (“Il-Kmandant”) ġie adattat għall-palk fl-2004. Huwa wkoll il-koawtur, flimkien mat-Teatru Nazzjonali ta’ Tuneż, tal-plej Alqaz Money.

Uħud mill-poeżiji tiegħu ġew maqluba f’kanzunetti minn kantanti u mużiċisti Tuneżin u Għarab. L-ewwel ġabra ta’ poeżij tiegħu, Song of the days of the Year (L-Għanja tal-Jiem tas-Sena) ġiet ikkonfiskata u pprojbita bejn l-1984 u l-1988. Qatta’ perjodi żgħar il-ħabs minħabba x-xogħlijiet tiegħu fil-qasam kemm letterarju kif ukoll kulturali, xogħlijiet li l-għan tagħhom kien li jesponu l-fundamentaliżmu u l-fatt li pajjiżu kien stat fejn kien hemm partit politiku wieħed biss. Huwa telaq minn Dar il-Poeżija wara nuqqas ta’ ftehim mal-gvern meta ħass li dan kien qed jindaħal wisq fit-tmexxija tad-Dar.

Bħalissa huwa qiegħed jikteb artikli għal rivisti li jidhru darba f’ġimgħa jew darba f’xahar fit-Tuniżija u f’pajjiżi Għarab oħrajn. Ħafna mit-testi ta’ Awlad Ahmad ġew maqluba għall-Franċiż, Ġermaniż, Olandiż u Taljan.

Huwa ħa sehem f’diversi festivals tal-poeżija kemm f’pajjiżi Għarab kif ukoll f’postijiet oħra. Fost dawn wieħed jista’ jsemmi Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bonn,

Berlin, Munich, Pariġi, Strasburgu, Grenoble, Rabat, Casablanca, Fez, Tripoli, Amman, Baghdad, u Sharjah.

STÉPHANE CHAUMET twieled fl- 1971 f’ Dunkerk. Huwa għex fl-Istati Uniti, il-Messiku, is-Sirja u ċ-Ċina.

Huwa l-awtur tar-rumanz Même pour ne pas vaincre (Anki mhux għal rebħa, edizzjoni Le Seuil, 2011) u tliet ġabriet ta’ poeżiji : Dans la nudité du temps (Fl- Għera taż-Żmien, edizzjoni L’Oreille du Loup, 2007), Urbaines miniatures (Minjaturi Urbani, edizzjoni L’Oreille du Loup, 2007), La traversée de l’errance (La travesía de la errancia (La Cabra, México, 2010).

Huwa ttraduċa x-xogħlijiet ta’ diversi poeti mill-Amerika Latina (Pura López Colomé, Myriam Montoya, Alberto Blanco…) kif ukoll minn Spanja (Olvido García Valdés, Leopoldo María Panero…). Ittraduċa wkoll il-kitbiet tal-poetessa Ġermaniża Hilde Domin u tal-poetessa Iranjana Forough Farrokhzad.

Ġie mistieden jieħu sehem f’numbru kbir ta’ festivals internazzjonali fl-Amerika Latina, fl-Ewropa kif ukoll fl-Afrika.

MONA EL SHEMY tikteb rumanzi u stejjer qosra. Twieldet fin-Nofs in-Nhar tal-Eġittu. Studjat l-Eġittoloġija fl-Università tal-Kajr, u llum taħdem bħala għalliema tal-Istorja.

Hija ppubblikat tliet rumanzi: The Winner Side (In-Naħa Rebbieħa, il-Kajr, 2008); The Arawla Rose, (Kriżantema, il-Kajr, 2006); A Fugitive Color from the Rainbow (Lewn Effimeru mill-Qawsalla, il-Kajr, 2003). Ippubblikat ukoll tliet stejjer qosra: Nostalgia Secrets, (Sigrieti tan-Nostalġija, il-Kajr, 2010), From the Hole of the Needle (Mit-Toqba tal-Labra, il-Kajr, 2009); and If the light flooded (Li Kieku d-Dawl Ifur, edizzjoni Sharja, Emirati Għarab Magħquda, 2008).

Rebħet diversi premijiet, fosthom il-Premju “Central Culture Places” għall-kittieba ta’ taħt il-35 sena, il-Premju għall-Aqwa Rumanz mogħti fl-Eġittu tat-Tramuntana, il-Premju tal-B.B.C. għall-istejjer qosra, il-Premju Sharja mogħti mill-Emirati Għarab Magħquda, kif ukoll il-Premju għall-Kultura mogħti mill-belt ta’ Dubai.

TAREK ELTAYEB twieled fil-Kajr fl-1959 minn missier Sudaniż u omm Eġizzjana. Ilu jgħix Vjenna mill-1984. Huwa studja fl-Istitut tal-Ekonomija fl-Università ta’ Vjenna. Illum il-ġurnata, huwa jgħallem fi tliet universitajiet differenti fl-Awstrija.

Huwa beda jikteb fl-1985. Ix-xogħlijiet tiegħu jinkludu żewġ rumanzi, żewġ ġabriet ta’ stejjer qosra, ħames ġabriet ta’ poeżiji u dramm bl-Għarbi. Il-kotba tiegħu ġew maqluba għal diversi lingwi, u ppubblikati bil-Ġermaniż, Ingliż, Taljan, Franċiż, Spanjol, Maċedonjan, Rumen u Serb. Il-poeżiji tiegħu dehru f’diversi antoloġiji u rivisti letterarji mad-dinja kollha.

Huwa ġie mogħti diversi boroż ta’ studju importanti. Fl-2005, ingħata l-Elias Cannetti Fellowship mill-Belt ta’ Vjenna; fl-2007, huwa rebaħ il-Premju Ewlieni Internazzjonali għall-Poeżija waqt il-Festival Internazzjonali Curtea de Arges fir-Rumanija.

Fl-2008, ingħata l-kariga ta’ Ambaxxatur għall-Awstrija għas-Sena Ewropea għad-Djalogu bejn il-Kulturi. Fl-istess sena, rċieva Midalja tal-Unur għas-Servizzi Mogħtija lir-Repubblika tal-Awstrija.

Huwa membru tal-fakultà tal-Programm Internazzjonali tal-Kitba Between The Lines (Bejn il-Linji) fl-Università tal-Iowa fil-Belt tal-Iowa, l-Istati Uniti.

L-aħħar żewġ ġabriet ta’ poeżiji tiegħu ġew ippubblikati f’Bejrut fl-2010 (We Sold the Ground and Were Happy with the Dust, Bigħejna l-Art u Konna Kuntenti Bit-Trab) u fil-Kajr fl-2011 (Not Sin, Mhux Dnub).

Huwa ppreżenta xogħlijiet minn tiegħu f’diversi festivals internazzjonali. http://www.eltayeb.at/

SIMONE GALEA (1967) started writing poetry at a young age but published her first book of poetry, Xi Drabi Mqar Persuna in 2011. Her first book for children, Il-Metamorfosi tal-Mamà is also being published in 2011. She is currently working with other writers and artists on various writing projects.

Simone Galea is senior lecturer in Philosophy of Education the University of Malta where she has been teaching for the last fifteen years. After obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Malta she was awarded a bursary at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, where she completed her PhD studies. Her academic areas of specialization include feminist philosophies, philosophies of difference particularly related to research with migrant students, narrative inquiry and the use of literary texts in the development of teachers and their concepts of teaching.

She has taught in primary state schools and Maltese language and literature in secondary and higher secondary schools. She is married and has two children.

NIKI MARANGOU twieldet f’Limassol, Ċipru, fl- 1948. Studjat is-Soċjoloġija f’Berlin tal-Punent bejn l-1965 u l-1970. Matul għaxar snin, hija ħadmet bħala drammaturgu mat-Teatru Statali ta’ Ċipru. Bejn l-1980 u 2007 mexxiet il-ħanut tal-kotba Kochlias f’Nikosija.

Ippubblikat kemm proża kif ukoll poeżiji u stejjer għat-tfal. Rebħet diversi premjijiet mill-Istat Ċiprijott Grieg. Fl-1998, rebħet il-Premju Cavafy għall-poeżija. Hija membru tal-Għaqda Awturi Elleniċi (Hellenic Authors Society) u tal-Għaqda Awturi Ċipriotti. Fl-2006, rebħet il-Premju għall-Poeżija għall-ktieb tagħha Divan, mogħti mill-Akkademja ta’ Ateni.

F’Mejju 2008, il-ktieb tagħha The Demon of Lust (Ix-Xitan taż-Żina) ġie magħżul minn DIAVAZO REWARDS ġewwa Ateni bħala wieħed mill-aqwa għaxar stejjer qosra ta’ dik is-sena. Fl-2004, il-poeżija tagħa “Roses” (“Ward”) intgħażlet biex tiġi mdendla fil-kmamar ta’ stennija fl-isptarijiet tal-NHS fir-Renju Unit. Il-poeżiji tagħha huma inklużi fil-“Kostituzzjoni Ewropea f’Versi” tal-Kollettiv tal-Poeżija fi Brussell (2009) kif ukoll fis-cd «Nachrichten von der Poesie» (Random House) maħruġ minn Joachim Sartorius.

Il-pitturi tagħha ġew esebiti f’seba’ wirjiet differenti. Hija tgħix f’Nikosija, u għandha tifla li hija pittriċi. http://www.marangou.com

ALBERT MARSHALL (Ħ’Attard, 1947) huwa awtur u direttur tad-drammi. Studja s-Seminarju, l-Università ta’ Malta, il-London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, u Victoria University ta’ Melbourne, l-Awstralja, mnejn kiseb l-M.A. fl-Istudji tal-Komunikazzjoni. Bejn l-1971 u l-1980 okkupa diversi karigi fix-xandir nazzjonali u kien l-ewwel kap Malti tal-Akkademja Nazzjonali tal-Arti Drammatika.

Marshall emigra lejn l-Awstralja fl-1981. Għamel żmien reġista residenti fil-Victoria College of the Arts ta’ Melbourne u kien l-ewwel Malti li dderieġa fis-Sydney Opera House. Kien jgħallem l-istudji tal-Komunikazzjoni f’Victoria University qabel irritorna Malta.

Irritorna Malta f’Novembru 1995 biex jieħu f’idejh it-tmexxija tar-Radju tal-Università u fl-istess ħin jgħallem l-istudji tal-Komunikazzjoni fl-Università ta’ Malta. Marshall inħatar General Manager tal-PBS fl-1996. Fl-2004, Marshall emigra lejn il-Lussemburgu fejn ħadem bħala traduttur mal-Kummissjoni Ewropea. F’Novembru 2009 irtira u irritorna lejn Malta.

Marshall ippubblika għadd kbir ta’ poeżiji f’kotba u antoloġiji tul il-medda taż-żmien bejn il-ħolqien tal-Moviment Qawmien Letterarju, li tiegħu kien protagonist, fis-Snin Sittin, u l-ktieb Diaspora, ġabra tal-poeżiji tiegħu miktubin bejn l-1967 u l-1996. L-iktar pubblikazzjonijiet riċenti tiegħu ta’ poeżija huma Battuti għal Inżul ix-Xemx (ma’ poeti oħrajn, Horzions, 2010) u l-ġabra bilingwi (Malti, bi traduzzjonijiet bl-Ingliż) Jumping Puddles (Outlook, 2011).

MYRIAM MONTOYA (il-Kolombja 1963) Wara li lestiet il-Maġisteru fil-Letteratura tal-Amerika Latina fis-Sorbonne fl-1994, Montoya bidet minnufih il-karriera letterarja tagħha ġewwa Pariġi b’ħafna suċċess. Ippubblikat erba’ ġabriet ta’ poeżiji, antoloġija tax-xogħlijiet tagħha, kif ukoll traduzzjonijiet bl-Ispanjol ta’ poeti Franċiżi u poeti nisa mill-Afrika u l-Lvant Nofsani. Il-poeżiji tagħha dehru f’diversi rivisti fil-Kolombja, Kuba, Franza, il-Marokk, il-Kanada u Spanja. Hija kemm-il darba ġiet mistiedna tieħu sehem f’festivals tal-poeżija f’partijiet differenti tad-dinja. Bħalissa qiegħda taħdem bħala ko-direttriċi ta’ dar ta’ pubblikazzjoni li tippubblika poeżiji mid-dinja kollha u li ġġib l-isem ta’ L’Oreille du Loup.

Montoya twieldet f’Bello, f’Antioquia. L-ewwel passi tagħha bħala kittieba ħadithom waqt laboratorju tal-letteratura mmexxi minn Manuel Mejía Vallejo, rumanzier magħruf ħafna fir-reġjun tagħha. Iżda kien il-poeta Jaime Jaramillo Escobar, magħruf ukoll bħala X-504, wieħed mill-ikbar poeti nadaisti u wieħed mill-aqwa poeti Kolombjani, li ressaqha qrib il-poeżija u għallimha l-misteri tagħha. Hi bidet taqra l-poeżija taħt it-tmexxija tiegħu meta kienet għadha żgħira, u kien hekk li Montoya bidet tesperimenta minn kmieni ħafna bit-tifsiriet tal-kliem li, mitfugħa lir-riħ, jistgħu jsiru xrar tal-elettriku.

Wara li spiċċat il-Baċellerat, hija marret tgħix Pariġi, fejn malajr skoprieha l-Ispanista magħruf Franċiż Claude Couffon, li ttraduċa l-ewwel żewġ ġabriet tal-poeżiji tagħha, Fugas (Flights) and Desarraigos (Uprootings). Iktar tard, ix-xogħlijiet tagħha ġew maqluba għall-Franċiż mill-poeta Stéphane Chaumet.

RASHA OMRAN hija poetessa Sirjana. Hija ggradwat mill-Università ta’ Damasku fejn studjat il-letteratura Għarbija.

Mill-1997 sal-lum, ippubblikat erba’ ġabriet ta’ poeżiji: Rajaa Lahu Shakal al-Haya; Ka’ana Manfay Jasady; Thilak al-Mumatad Fi Aqsa Hanini u Ma’atif Ahmar Farag. Barra minn dawn ix-xogħlijiet personali, ħadmet ukoll biex tinġabar antoloġija tal-poeżija Sirjana.

Rasha Omran hija d-Direttur tal-festival kulturali Al-Sindiyana li jittella’ fis-Sirja kull sena. http://www.banipal.co.uk/contributors/60/rasha_omran/

MOHAMED-SALAH OMRI is Lecturer in Modern Arabic Literature and Tutorial Fellow of St. John’s College at the University of Oxford.

He has also taught at Washington University in St. Louis in the US and University of Exeter in Britain, where he was Director of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies.

His publications include: Trade and cultural exchange in the early modern Mediterranean: Braudel’s maritime legacy (London: I.B. Tauris, 2010) in collaboration with Maria Fusaro and Colin Heywood; Nationalism, Islam and World Literature: sites of confluence in the writings of Mahmud al-Mas’adi (London and New York: Routledge, 2006); The Novelization of Islamic Literatures: the intersections of Western, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Turkish Traditions, a special issue of Comparative Critical Studies (4:3 (2007); and two books with Professor Abdeljalil Temimi. Dr. Omri also writes occasional interventions in the culture and politics of Tunisia, the Maghreb and the Mediterranean more widely.

ROBIN YASSIN-KASSAB twieled fil-Punent ta’ Londra fl-1969. Minbarra

sitt xhur li matulhom għex ġewwa Bejrut, huwa trabba fl-Ingilterra u fl-Iskozja. Għex u ħadem f’ Londra, Franza, il-Pakistan, it-Turkija, is-Sirja, il-Marokk, l-Għarabja Sawdija u l-Oman. L-ewwel rumanz tiegħu, The Road From Damascus (It-Triq minn Damasku), ġie ppubblikat fl-2008 fl-edizzjonijiet Hamish Hamilton u Penguin, kif ukoll fl-edizzjoni Taljana il Saggiatore. Huwa wkoll ko-editur u kittieb regolari ta’ PULSE, li dan l-aħħar ġiet magħżula minn Le Monde Diplomatique bħala waħda mill-ħames websajts favoriti ta’ din il-gazzetta. Il-blogg tiegħu jinsab hawnhekk www.qunfuz.com. ‘Qunfuz’ hija l-kelma Għarbija għal ‘qanfud’. Fil-blog tiegħu tas-17 ta’ Ġunju, f’riflessjoni li għandha tidher iktar tard f’forma t’artiklu ppubblikat mill-gazzetta The Guardian, huwa kiteb dan li ġej:

“F’Jannar li għadda s-Sirja, u magħha l-Għarabja Sawdija u stati oħra tal-Golf, kienu jidhru bħala l-postijiet fejn ir-rivoluzzjoni kienet l-inqas possibbli. Li kieku l-President Bashaar al-Asad ħareġ għal elezzjoni, probabbilment kien jirbaħ. Huwa diffiċli fis-sitwazzjoni li qegħdin fiha llum li niftakru li ħafna Sirjani fil-verità kienu japprovaw, għalkemm fuq qalbhom, ir-reġim minħabba li kien jiżguralhom is-sikurezza u għal politika barranija pjuttost nazzjonalista li kien iħaddan. Hija dik ix-xewqa ħerqana għas-sikurezza, dik il-biża’ enormi ta’ kaos bħalma ġara fl-Irak, li saħansitra issa, jżommu parti mill-popolazzjoni tas-Sirja leali b’mod feroċi għal dan ir-reġim.

Fil-bidu, għalkemm ġew imnebbħa mill-qawmien tal-poplu fit-Tuniżija u fl-Eġittu, ħafna minn dawk li ħarġu jipprotestaw ma kellhomx f’moħħhom li jinbidel ir-reġim. L-ewwel protesta li saret – fil-qalba ta’ Damasku – kienet rispons għall-brutalità tal-pulizija. Dik il-protesta baqgħet paċifika sal-aħħar, imma meta l-belt ta’ Dera’a pprotestat kontra l-arrest ta’ tfal tal-iskola, inxtered id-demm. Il-komunitajiet kollha tal-pajjiż irvellaw u n-nies niżlu fit-toroq. Il-vjolenza min-naħa tal-awtoritajiet kienet akbar din id-darba, u bħala risposta, ħarġu iktar nies fit-toroq. Hekk beda ċirku vizzjuż. L-intelliġenza kollha u l-pretensjonijiet nazzjonalisti waqgħu u ħarġet fil-beraħ il-qalba sewda u vjolenti tal-gvern.

ABDELREHIM YOUSSEF twieled f’Lixandra, l-Eġittu, fl-1975. Jaħdem bħala għalliem tal-Ingliż ġewwa skola primarja tal-Gvern u jaħdem ukoll fi ħdan l-Assoċjazzjoni Gudran għall-Arti u l-Iżvilupp.

Huwa poeta li jikteb bid-djalett Eġizzjan.

Ħafna poeżiji minn tiegħu ġew ippubblikati f’diversi rivisti letterarji. Ippubblika wkoll tliet ġabriet ta’ poeżiji: “Poems Dead with Heart Failure” – 2008, “From the Blue Period” – 2009 and “A Cat, a Saint and a Fairy” – 2010. Huwa kiteb kanzunetti, kif ukoll għen biex jittellgħu iktar minn 12-il xogħol għat-teatru bejn is-sena 2000 u l-2010. Ħadem bħala assistent editur għat-tliet ħarġiet ta’ Meena, rivista letterarja b’żewġ lingwi li ilha tidher mill-2005.

Huwa mexxa diversi laqgħat letterarji u kulturali ġewwa l-belt ta’ Lixandra. Dan l-aħħar kien ukoll qed jieħu ħsieb jorgannizza attivitajiet letterarji u kulturali fil-Librerija El Cabina fl-istess belt.

Huwa miżżewweġ lill-kittieba ta’ stejjer qosra, Omayma Abdel-Shafy, li wkoll hija mill-belt ta’ Lixandra u għandu tifel li jismu Yehia (2007). www.abdelrehimyoussef.blogspot.com

Alexandra Büchler (Ir-Renju Unit/ir-Repubblika Ċeka) twieldet Praga u ħadet l-edukazzjoni tagħha fi Praga stess, f’Tessaloniki u f’Melbourne. Ilha tgħix fir-Renju Unit mill-1989. Hija d-direttriċi fundatriċi ta’ Literature Across Frontiers (LAF), programm Ewropew ta’ skambju letterarju, Traduzzjoni u Dibattitu dwar il-Politika Kulturali u Letterarja. Kienet membru fil-bord ta’ Culture Action Europe (li kien jismu European Forum for Arts and Heritage) u membru tat-Translators’ Association tar-Renju Unit.

Hija d-direttriċi editorjali ta’ Transcript, ir-rivista Ewropea fuq l-internet dwar il-kotba u l-kitba, www.transcript-review.org u editriċi tas-sensiela internazzjonali ta’ antoloġiji tal-poeżija kontemporanja New Voices from Europe and Beyond mal-Arc Publications, ibbażati fir-Renju Unit. Ittraduċiet xogħlijiet ta’ narrattiva, poeżija, drammi teatrali u testi fuq l-arti u l-arkitettura moderna mill-Ingliż, iċ-Ċek u l-Grieg. Qalbet għaċ-Ċek ’il fuq minn ħamsa u għoxrin xogħol, fosthom kotba ta’ awturi bħal ma huma J. M. Coetzee, David Malouf, Jean Rhys, Janice Galloway u Rhea Galanaki.

Editjat u kellha sehem fit-traduzzjoni ta’ għadd ta’ antoloġiji, fosthom This Side of Reality: Modern Czech Writing (1996), Allskin and Other Tales by Contemporary Czech Women (1998). L-aktar pubblikazzjonijiet riċenti tagħha huma A Fine Line: New Poetry from Central and Eastern Europe, Arc (2004) u Six Czech Poets, Arc (2007). Fl-2009 ħarġet traduzzjoni tagħha biċ-Ċek tal-poeżiji ta’ Patrick McGuinness.

In the press

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2011 – Malta Today

Sixth edition of Mediterranean Literature Festival to focus on Arab Spring

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/whats_on/mediterranean-literature-festival/sixth-edition-of-mediterranean-literature-festival-to-foc

Is-Sibt, 3 ta’ Settembru, 2011 – Il-Ġens Illum

Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura u r-Rebbiegħa Għarbija

http://www.il-gensillum.com/news.asp?newscat=2&news=10235

Sunday, September 4, 2011 – Malta Today

These are not Facebook revolutions | Mohamed-Salah Omri, by Adrian Grima

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/whats_on/these-are-not-facebook-revolutions

Sunday, September 4, 2011 – The Sunday Times

When narratives collapse, by Albert Gatt

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110904/arts-entertainment/When-narratives-collapse.383386

Sunday, September 4, 2011 – The Malta Independent on Sunday

Mediterranean Literature Festival and the Arab Spring

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=131506

Thursday, September 1, 2001 – The Malta Independent

September Arts Calendar – The new creative season begins, by Erika Brincat

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=131329

Feature on national PBS news (7.9.11):

http://public.di-ve.com/streaming/on_demand_media_streamer.aspx?id=5152&encoding=8&backUrl=streaming%2fon_demand_event_encoding.aspx%3fid%3d5152 –

Go directly to 24:07

Mediterranean / These are not Facebook revolutions | Mohamed-Salah Omri

Adrian Grima

http://www.babelmed.net/Countries/Mediterranean/these_are.php?c=6883&m=9&l=en

Thursday, September 8, 2011 – The Times

Mediterranean festival of literature

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110908/arts-entertainment/Mediterranean-festival-of-literature.383869

Il-Ħadd, 9 ta’ Ottubru, 2011

Il-Mument