English texts follow the versions in Maltese.
Iltaqa’ mal-kittieba mistiedna għall-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta – is-27 u t-28 ta’ Awwissu 2021
Meet the authors taking part in the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival – 27 & 28 August 2021
Miriam Calleja | Ghayath Almadhoun | Leanne Ellul | Inua Ellams | John Portelli | Katerina Iliopoulou
Miriam Calleja
Miriam Calleja hija poetessa Maltija. Il-kotba tagħha Pomegranate Heart (EDE Books, 2015) u Inside Skin (EDE Books, 2016) ġew deskritti bħala ‘friski,’ ‘intimi’ u ‘senswali.’ Is-sena li għaddiet ħarġet ktieb u rekording tal-poeżija twila Remember bħala rikordju ta’ dawn iż-żminijiet tal-pandemija. L-aktar poeżiji riċenti ġew ippubblikati fil-ktieb Stranger Intimacy (Stamperija Reljic, 2020) u fil-ktieb tal-arti kollaborattiv Luftmeer (2021) ippubblikat f’Maastricht, fl-Olanda. Ix-xogħol tagħha ġie ppubblikata u tradott f’numru ta’ ġabriet madwar id-dinja.
Fl-2020, waqt residenza artistika ta’ xahrejn fil-Ġermanja, ħadmet fuq proġett li ġie ppreżentat fil-Festival ta’ poeti nisa Schamrock, f’Munich.
Miriam tiffaċilita workshops tal-kitba kreattiva u l-poeżija għal kull età u tħobb taħdem ma’ artisti f’oqsma differenti. Temmen li l-poeżija u l-proża, kif ukoll ir-rakkuntar, huma għodda importanti għall-għaqda u l-ftehim aħjar bejnietna.
Miriam hija kofondatriċi u Viċi President tal-għaqda volontarja PEN Malta, li bħalissa qed tistenna akkreditazzjoni minn PEN International.
Miriam qrat ix-xogħol tagħha f’numru ta’ pajjiżi fl-Ewropa u fl-Amerika.
Taħdem ukoll bħala kittieba fil-qasam tas-saħħa u oqsma oħra.
Ritratt ta’ Kurt Paris.
Miriam Calleja is a Maltese poet. Her poetry collections, Pomegranate Heart (EDE Books, 2015), and Inside Skin (EDE Books, 2016) have been described as ‘fresh’, ‘intimate’, and ‘sensual’. In 2020, her poem ‘Remember’ was presented during Versopolis: Festival of Hope. Her recent poetry collections are Stranger Intimacy (Stamparija Reljic, 2020) and the collaborative art book Luftmeer (2021) published in Holland. She has been published and translated in several poetry anthologies worldwide.
In 2020, following a 2-month artistic residency in Germany, she presented her work at the Schamrock festival for women poets in Munich.
She facilitates creative writing and poetry workshops and enjoys collaborations with other artists. Miriam believes that poetry and prose are tools for storytelling that encourage unity, connection, and understanding.
Miriam is co-founder and Vice President of the VO PEN Malta that is awaiting accreditation from PEN International.
She has read at events within Europe, and within several states in the US.
Miriam is also a medical/health writer.
Ghayath Almadhoun
Ghayath Almadhoun huwa poeta Palestinjan imwieled f’Damasku, is-Sirja. Fl-2008 emigra lejn l-Iżvezja u bħalissa qed jaqsam ħinu bejn Berlin u Stokkolma.
Huwa ppubblika erba’ ġabriet ta’ poeżija bl-Għarbi u xogħlu ġie tradott f’diversi lingwi. Almadhoun ikkollabora ma’ poeti u artisti oħra u l-poeżija tiegħu ntużat mill-artista Amerikana Jenny Holzer u l-mużiċista Ġermaniża Blixa Bargeldn f’xogħol tagħhom. L-aħħar ġabra tiegħu, Adrenalin, ġiet ippubblikata bl-Ingliż minn Action Books (2017). Din il-ġabra kienet fost l-aktar ġabriet mibjugħa mid-dar tal-pubblikazzjoni SPD fl-Istati Uniti għal erba’ xhur sħaħ u ġiet nominata għall-Premju tal-Aqwa Ktieb Tradott tal-2018.
Il-ġabra bl-aħjar poeżiji tiegħu Ein Raubtier names Mittelemeer (Predator called the Mediterranean), ippubblikata minn Arche Verlag (2018), telgħet fil-quċċata tal-lista Liptrom-Bestenliste tal-istess sena fil-kategorija tal-aqwa kotba tradotti għall-Ġermaniż. Dan l-aħħar ingħata borża ta’ studju ta’ sena fil-programm DAAD Artisti f’Berlin, u riċentament il-film tal-poeżija tiegħu Évian rebaħ il-premju tal-Aqwa Film tal-Poeżija fiż-Zebra Poetry Film Festival.
Ritratt ta’ Marte Visser.
Ghayath Almadhoun is a Palestinian poet born in Damascus, Syria, and emigrated to Sweden in 2008. Now he lives in between Berlin & Stockholm.
He has published four poetry collections in Arabic and his work has been translated into dozens of languages. Almadhoun collaborated with other poets and artists and his poetry has been part of work by US artist Jenny Holzer and German musician Blixa Bargeld. His latest collection Adrenalin, published in English by Action Books 2017, was among SPD Poetry Bestsellers in the US for four months and was nominated for the 2018 Best Translated Book Award. His selected poems Ein Raubtier namens Mittelmeer (Predator called the Mediterranean), published by Arche Verlag, ranked top of the Litprom-Bestenliste 2018 of best books translated into German. He was granted the one-year-long DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program award scholarship. Lately, his poetry film Évian won the Zebra Best Poetry Film Award 2020.
Leanne Ellul
Leanne Ellul tikteb poeżija u proża. Fil-passat kitbet għat-teatru u għadha tikteb it-textbooks u kotba oħra għat-tfal. Traduċiet ukoll numru ta’ kotba għall-Malti. Tgħallem iż-żgħażagħ il-Malti u tħarriġhom fil-kitba kreattiva. Fl-2016 ġiet magħżula bħala l-awtriċi emerġenti tas-sena. L-ewwel rumanz tagħha għaż-żgħażagħ, Gramma, rebaħ il-konkors ta’ kitba Letteratura għaż-Żgħażagħ u ġie tradott għall-Ingliż u l-Għarbi. L-ewwel kollezzjoni ta’ poeżiji tagħha jisimha L-Inventarju tal-Kamra l-Kaħla u bħalissa qed taħdem fuq it-tieni ġabra f’kuntest interdixxiplinarju fuq il-kulur abjad. Ellul tifforma parti minn numru ta’ entitajiet kulturali, fosthom Inizjamed u HELA.
Ritratt ta’ Giola Cassar.
Leanne Ellul writes poetry and prose. In the past she has written for theatre and still writes textbooks and other books for children. She also translated various books into Maltese. She teaches Maltese to sixth form students whilst coaching them in creative writing. In 2016 she was chosen as the emerging writer of the year. Her first novel for youths, Gramma, won the contest ‘Literature for Youths’ and was translated into English and Arabic. Her first collection of poetry is entitled The Blue Room Inventory (L-Inventarju tal-Kamra l-Kaħla) and currently she is working on her second collection of poems in an interdisciplinary context in relation to the colour white. Ellul forms part of a number of cultural entities, namely Inizjamed and HELA.
Inua Ellams
Inua Ellams twieled in-Niġerja. Huwa poeta, drammaturgu u performer, artist grafiku u disinjatur, u l-fundatur ta’ The Midnight Run (mixja billejl fi spazji urbani mimlija arti), The Rhythm and Poetry Party (The R.A.P Party – ċelebrazzjoni ta’ poeżija u hip hop), u Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H – ċelebrazzjoni tal-poeżija u l-film). L-identità, l-ispostament u d-destin huma temi rikorrenti f’xogħlu. Fih u permezz tagħhom jipprova jħallat il-qadim mal-ġdid: stejjer mit-tradizzjoni orali Afrikana ma’ poetika kontemporanja, żebgħa ma’ pixels, tessut ma’ vector. Ġie kkummissjonat xogħlijiet mill-Kumpanija Royal Shakespeare, in-National Theatre, it-Tate Modern, Louis Vuitton, u r-radju u t-televiżjoni tal-BBC. Rebaħ ukoll diversi premji konnessi mad-drittijiet umani, il-poeżija u t-teatru minn entitajiet bħall-Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hay Festival u Liberty.
Ritratt ta’ Andy Lo Pὀ.
Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright & performer, graphic artist & designer and founder of: The Midnight Run (an arts-filled, night-time, urban walking experience.), The Rhythm and Poetry Party (The R.A.P Party) which celebrates poetry & hip hop, and Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H) which celebrates Poetry and Film. Identity, Displacement & Destiny are reoccurring themes in his work, where he tries to mix the old with the new: traditional African oral storytelling with contemporary poetics, paint with pixel, texture with vector. He has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Tate Modern, Louis Vuitton, BBC Radio & Television. He won various prizes connected to human rights, poetry and theatre from entities such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hay Festival u Liberty.
John Portelli
John P. Portelli huwa professur emeritus fid-Dipartiment tal-Edukazzjoni tal-Ġustizzja Soċjali, OISE, fl-Università ta’ Toronto. Huwa l-awtur, koawtur u koeditur ta’ 22 ktieb, fosthom erba’ ġabriet ta’ poeżija, ġabra oħra tradotta għall-Grieg (The Loves of Yesterday, Ateni: Oropodo, 2020), tnejn oħra ta’ novelli (waħda minnhom tradotta għall-Ingliż: Everyday Encounters, Burlington, ON: Word and Deed, 2019), u rumanz (Kulħadd Barra Fajża, Malta: Horizons, 2018, tradott għall-Ingliż, Everyone but Fajza, Word and Deed, u Horizons, 2021). L-aħħar żewġ ġabriet ta’ poeżija tiegħu huma Imkien għall-Kenn (Malta: Horizons, 2020), u Dar-Riħ Malizzjuż (Malta: Horizons, 2021). Huwa ilu jgħix il-Kanada mill-1977, iżda issa jgħix bejn il-Kanada, Malta u lil hinn.
John P. Portelli is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto. He has authored, co-authored and co-edited 22 books including four bilingual collections of poetry, a collection of poems translated into Greek (The Loves of Yesterday, Athens: Oropodo, 2020), two collections of short stories (one of which is available in English: Everyday Encounters, Burlington, ON: Word and Deed, 2019), and a novel (Kulħadd barra Fajża, Malta: Horizons, 2018, also available in English, Everyone but Fajza, Word and Deed, and Horizons, 2021). His latest collection of poetry is entitled Dar-Riħ Malizzjuż (Malta: Horizons, 2021). He settled in Canada in 1977 but he spends time in Malta, Canada and beyond.
Katerina Iliopoulou
Katerina Iliopoulou hija poetessa, artista u traduttriċi. Tgħix u taħdem f’Ateni. Hija l-awtriċi ta’ erba’ ġabriet ta’ poeżija, ta’ ktieb ta’ poeżija u fotografija, u ta’ ġabra ta’ novelli. Hija wkoll l-editriċi u waħda mill-awturi ta’ żewġ ġabriet kollettivi ta’ saġġi fuq il-poetika. It-traduzzjonijiet tagħha, li nġabru wkoll f’kotba, jinkludu għażliet estensivi mix-xogħlijiet ta’ Sylvia Plath u Walt Whitman. Il-poeżija tagħha ġiet tradotta u ppubblikata f’rivisti letterarji, ġurnali u antoloġiji f’diversi lingwi, u pparteċipat f’ħafna festivals internazzjonali tal-poeżija. Hija l-Editriċi Ġenerali ta’ FRMK, ġurnal bjennali ta’ poeżija, poetika u arti viżwali. Hija wkoll koeditriċi tas-sit bilingwi www.greekpoetrynow.com.
Ritratt ta’ Yiannis Isidorou.
Katerina Iliopoulou is a poet, artist and translator, who lives and works in Athens. She is the author of four poetry books, a book of poetry and photography, and a book of short stories; she is also editor and one of the authors of two collective books of essays on poetics. Her translations in book form include extensive selections from the work of Sylvia Plath and Walt Whitman. Her own poetry has been translated and published in literary reviews, journals and anthologies in several languages, and she has participated in numerous international poetry festivals. She is the editor in chief of FRMK, a biannual journal on poetry, poetics and the visual arts, and co-editor of the bilingual web platform www.greekpoetrynow.com.
