Il-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta' Malta / Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival
2015 edition

2015 edition

Għat-tim tal-Festival ara isfel | How writers are invited: please read below

Tamim Barghouti (il-Palestina) | John Bonello (Malta) | Norbert Bugeja (Malta) | Efe Duyan (it-Turkija) | Moez Majed (it-Tuneżija) | Hisham Matar (il-Libja/ir-Renju Unit) |Nadia Mifsud (Malta) | James Vella (ir-Renju Unit/Malta) | Jana Putrle Srdić (is-Slovenja) | Marina Warner (ir-Renju Unit) | Trevor Żahra (Malta)


Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 August 2015

Fort St Elmo, VALLETTA. 8.00pm

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The Xth edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival organized by Inizjamed will be held on Thursday 27th, Friday 28th and Saturday 29th August, at Fort St Elmo, in Valletta, at 8.00pm. Eleven writers from eight countries are reading in the festival, which also features Maltese and foreign poetry films, three Maltese jazz and alternative music bands, a book stall, and food and drinks. Entrance to all events is free.

The Festival Programme

The writers reading on Thursday 27th August are poet Efe Duyan (Turkey), poet and short story writer Nadia Mifsud (Malta/France), the British-born short story writer and novelist James Vella, and prize-winning poet and political scientist Tamim Barghouti (Palestine/Egypt), who will be interviewed by Walid Nabhan. Barghouti’s father is the Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti, and his mother is the Egyptian novelist and scholar, Radwa Ashour. The band invited to play on this first night is Brodu, and Caldon Mercieca will present a poetry film from Reel Festivals.

Trevor Żahra
Trevor Żahra

On Friday 28th August, the writers invited to read are poet Moëz Majed (Tunisia), leading Maltese novelist Trevor Żahra, poet Jana Putrle Srdić (Slovenia), and novelist Hisham Matar (Libya/UK), who established himself internationally with his prize-winning novel In the Country of Men. Hisham Matar, who will be interviewed by Albert Gatt, is a contributor to various periodicals, including The Guardian and The New Yorker, in which, in 2013, he published part of his third novel, The Return, out next year. It takes as its starting point his visit to Libya in 2012, the first time he returned to Libya in thirty-three years. This second night features jazz music by Nadine Axisa and her band and another poetry film from Reel Festivals.

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Marina Warner (by Dan Welldon)

The writers reading on Saturday 29th August are novelist John Bonello, poet and academic Norbert Bugeja (Malta), and the world-renowned novelist and academic Marina Warner (UK), who will be interviewed by Gloria Lauri-Lucente, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta. Dame Marina Warner was awarded the Holberg Prize in the Humanities in 2015 and was Chair of the judges of the Man Booker International Prize 2015. The daughter of an Italian mother and English bookseller, she was brought up in Egypt, Belgium, and England, and is writing a memoir-cum-novel set in Cairo in the Fifties.

On Saturday, live jazz music will be provided by Oliver Degabriele feat, Joe Debono and Joseph Camilleri. On Saturday, in collaboration with Valletta 2018 Foundation, Inizjamed will present a poetry film based on a poem by Mario Azzopardi, “Ried Ikun Jaf,” directed by Edward Said and produced by Emma Mattei. For more about this film read here.

(Hisham Matar (The Daily Telegraph. Portrait of Libyan novelist Hisham Matar, whose father was kidnapped in Cairo in 1990 and has never been found. Photographed in Holland Park, west London. Thursday January 28, 2010.
(Hisham Matar (The Daily Telegraph. Portrait of Libyan novelist Hisham Matar, whose father was kidnapped in Cairo in 1990 and has never been found. Photographed in Holland Park, west London. Thursday January 28, 2010.

LIterature and More

As part of the run-up to the Festival, on Tuesday 25th August at 7.00pm, Moëz Majed will be talking about the situation in Tunisia since the Revolution of Dignity and Freedom of 2010 in the Library of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta in Tal-Qroqq, Msida. This event, which is free and open to everyone, is being hosted by the Mediterranean Institute in collaboration with Inizjamed and will be chaired by Norbert Bugeja.

Some of the literature read during the festival might require an adult audience.

The writers will be in Malta throughout the last week of August to take part in the Malta LAF Literary Translation Workshop. They will be translating each other’s works, and reading some of these translations during the festival.

LAF logo 2013EFFE-LABEL-COLORThe festival and literary translation workshop are part of the Literature Across Frontiers initiative, which has played a crucial role in the setting up and development of this annual literary event. The 2015 edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival and the Malta LAF translation workshop are being held with the support of the Malta Arts Fund, Heritage Malta,  Arts Council Malta, Valletta 2018 Foundation, Għaqda tal-Malti – Università, The Fortress Builders, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Malta Tourism Authority, Centre for Slovenian Literature, Slovenian Book Agency, and Highlight Arts. The MMLF is the recipient of the EFFE Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe label.

The Festival is on Facebook and at inizjamedmalta.wordpress.com.

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Highlight Arts


Il-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta 2015

Il-Ħamis 27 | Il-Ġimgħa 28 | Is-Sibt 29 ta’ Awwissu 2015, il-Forti Sant’Iermu, il-Belt Valletta, fit-8.00pm

L-għaxar edizzjoni tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta organizzat minn Inizjamed se tittella’ l-Ħamis 27, il-Ġimgħa 28, u s-Sibt 29 ta’ Awwissu, fil-Forti Sant’Iermu, il-Belt Valletta, fit-8.00pm. Minbarra l-qari ta’ novelli u poeżiji minn ħdax-il awtur minn tmien pajjiżi, se jkun hemm mużika jazz u alternattiva, tliet “films tal-poeżija”, fosthom wieħed Malti mnebbaħ minn poeżija ta’ Mario Azzopardi, kotba għall-bejgħ, u ikel u xorb. Id-dħul huwa b’xejn.

Il-Programm tal-Festival

nadia mifsud
Nadia Mifsud

Il-Ħamis 27 ta’ Awwissu se jaqraw il-poeta Tork Efe Duyan, il-poetessa u novelliera Maltija li tgħix Franza Nadia Mifsud, ir-rumanzier u novellier Ingliż ta’ nisel Malti James Vella, u l-poeta u politologu magħruf Palestinjan Tamim Barghouti, rebbieħ ta’ bosta premjijiet, li se jintervistah Walid Nabhan. Missier l-awtur huwa l-poeta Mourid Barghouti, u ommu r-rumanziera u studjuża Eġizzjana, Radwa Ashour. Il-grupp mużikali mistieden għal din l-ewwel lejla huwa Brodu, li l-ewwel album tiegħu ntlaqa’ tajjeb ħafna, u Caldon Mercieca se jippreżenta wieħed mill-“films tal-poeżija” bi sħab ma’ Reel Festivals.

Il-Ġimgħa 28 ta’ Awwissu, l-awturi li se jaqraw huma l-poeta Tuniżin Moëz Majed, l-awtur ewlieni Malti Trevor Żahra, il-poetessa Slovena Jana Putrle Srdić, u r-rumanzier magħruf Ingliż-Libjan Hisham Matar, li stabbilixxa ruħu fix-xena internazzjonali bir-rumanz rebbieħ ta’ bosta premjijiet In the Country of Men. Hisham Matar, li se jiġi intervistat minn Albert Gatt, jikteb regolarment f’rivisti u gazzetti ewlenin bħal The Guardian, u xandar parti mit-tielet rumanz tiegħu, li ħiereġ fl-2016, f’The New Yorker. The Return jibda bi vjaġġ li għamel l-awtur fil-Libja fl-2012, l-ewwel darba li reġa’ lura l-Libja fi tlieta u tletin sena. F’din it-tieni lejla se jdoqq it-trio jazz ta’ Nadine Axisa u se jintwera film ieħor bi sħab ma’ Reel Festivals.

Oliver Degabriele
Oliver Degabriele

L-awturi li se jaqraw is-Sibt 29 ta’ Awwissu huma r-rumanzier John Bonello, il-poeta u akkademiku Norbert Bugeja, u r-rumanziera u akkademika ta’ fama internazzjonali Marina Warner, li se tintervistaha Gloria Lauri-Lucente, Deputat Dekan fil-Fakultà tal-Arti tal-Università ta’ Malta. Din is-sena l-Prof. Marina Warner ingħatat il-Premju prestiġjuż Holberg għall-kontribut straordinarju tagħha fl-Oqsma Umanistiċi u mexxiet il-ġurija tal-Premju Internazzjonali Man Booker tal-2015. Warner, li ommha kienet Taljana u missierha bejjiegħ tal-kotba Ingliż, trabbiet l-Eġittu, il-Belġju u l-Ingilterra, u qed tikteb rumanz ambjentat fil-Kajr fis-snin 50 tas-seklu 20, imnebbaħ mill-istorja tagħha.

Is-Sibt, il-grupp mużikali mistieden huwa dak jazz ta’ Oliver Degabriele feat, Joe Debono and Joseph Camilleri. Is-Sibt ukoll, bl-għajnuna tal-Fondazzjoni Valletta 2018, Inizjamed se turi għall-ewwel darba “film tal-poeżija” mnebbaħ minn “Ried Ikun Jaf” ta’ Mario Azzopardi. Id-direzzjoni hija ta’ Edward Said u l-produzzjoni ta’ Emma Mattei.

Uħud mill-kitbiet li se jinqraw matul il-festival jistgħu jkunu maħsubin għal udjenza matura.

Letteratura u Lil Hinn Minnha

Moëz Majed
Moëz Majed

L-awturi se jkunu f’Malta fl-aħħar ġimgħa ta’ Awwissu biex jieħdu sehem f’laboratorju tat-traduzzjoni li fih se jittraduċu x-xogħlijiet ta’ xulxin u jaqraw uħud minnhom waqt il-Festival. Il-Festival u l-laboratorju tat-traduzzjoni letterarja huma parti mill-inizjattiva Literature Across Frontiers, li kellha sehem importanti fit-twaqqif u l-iżvilupp annwali tal-Festival.

Bħala parti mill-Festival, it-Tlieta 25 ta’ Awwissu fis-7.00pm, il-poeta Tuneżin Moëz Majed se jagħmel taħdita dwar is-sitwazzjoni f’pajjiżu fil-Librerija tal-Fakultà tal-Arti, fl-Università, tal-Qroqq. Din l-attività, li hija miftuħa għal kulħadd, u mingħajr ħlas, qed tittella’ mill-Istitut Mediterranju tal-Università bi sħab ma’ Inizjamed u se titmexxa minn Norbert Bugeja.

L-għaxar edizzjoni tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura f’Malta u l-laboratorju tat-traduzzjoni tal-LAF qed jittellgħu minn Inizjamed bħala parti mill-inizjattiva Literature Across Frontiers u bl-għajnuna tal-Malta Arts Fund, il-Fondazzjoni Valletta 2018, Heritage Malta, il-Kunsill Malti tal-Arti, l-Għaqda tal-Malti – Università, The Fortress Builders, l-Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, l-Awtorità Maltija tat-Turiżmu, iċ-Ċentru għal-Letteratura Slovena u l-Aġenzija tal-Ktieb tar-Repubblika Slovena, u Highlight Arts.

Is-sit tal-Festival huwa inizjamedmalta.wordpress.com u l-paġna fuq Facebook jisimha “Malta Mediterranean

Literature Festival 2015”.

Isma’ din l-intervista fuq Radju Malta ta’ Pauline Miceli ma’ Adrian Grima dwar il-Festival tal-2015 (24.8.15).


It-tim tal-Festival

It-tim li qed jorganizza l-edizzjoni tal-2015 tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta huwa magħmul minn Kit Azzopardi, Keith Borg, Jean Paul Borg, Norbert Bugeja, Priscilla Cassar, Leanne Ellul, Claudia Gauci, Adrian Grima (koordinatur), John Paul Mifsud, Nadia Mifsud, u Darren Tanti, bl-għajnuna ta’ Alexandra Büchler, Antoine Cassar, Caldon Mercieca, Immanuel Mifsud, Walid Nabhan, u Pierre Portelli.


How writers are invited to the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival

We’re often asked how we choose the writers we invite to read at our festival and writers or their agents often approach us to take part. Please bear in mind that it’s a small festival with a very particular format and build up. It’s not just a matter of climbing onto the stage to do your thing.

The crucial thing to keep in mind is that we do not solicit proposals from writers or their representatives to participate in the workshop and festival. We don’t mind being approached because that shows that writers are keen to get involved but we ask people to understand that it is the organizing team that approaches writers rather than the other way round. We’re very happy to meet and discuss the festival with those who attend even though they have not been invited to read themselves. The festival is the main thing we do at Inizjamed but we’re involved in other intiatives too and we’re happy to explore possible forms of collaboration with writers who approach us.

Please also keep in mind that we are (unpaid) volunteers and there is only so much we can do.

We look forward to meeting you at this year’s edition of the festival.

Adrian Grima (Inizjamed coordinator)