Version in English below.
Għal dawk minna li x-xahar t’Awwissu huwa ekwivalenti għall-Festival, għal dawk minna li meta jasal il-Festival jiskru bih ġimgħa sħiħa, kull edizzjoni hija memorabbli bil-mod tagħha. Minkejja li għadu ftit kmieni, qed nantiċipaw li din l-edizzjoni se nibqgħu niftakruha għal diversi raġunijiet. Ewlenin fosthom hija l-pubblikazzjoni friska xtaqt li kont merkurju, antoloġija li tiċċelebra l-poeżija u t-traduzzjoni li fil-Festival isiru l-lingwi tagħna.
Dan il-ktieb jiġbor fih 122 poeżija li nqalbu għall-Malti fil-laboratorji ta’ traduzzjoni matul l-ewwel 16-il edizzjoni tal-Festival. Fih niltaqgħu max-xogħol ta’ 60 awtriċi u awtur, 25 traduttriċi u traduttur. It-titlu xtaqt li kont merkurju huwa l-ewwel vers ta’ waħda mill-poeżiji fil-ġabra, u għażilnieh għax in-natura flessibbli u trasformattiva tal-merkurju, metall likwidu, tirrappreżenta l-flessibiltà meħtieġa fil-proċess tat-traduzzjoni letterarja u l-ħila trasformattiva tiegħu. Bħalma jikteb Adrian Grima fid-daħla ta’ dan il-ktieb, mhuwiex biss it-test oriġinali li “jinħoloq mill-ġdid, imma l-lingwa li biha ssir it-traduzzjoni”.
Il-ħidma fuq dan il-proġett bdiet għadd ta’ snin ilu u r-riżultat huwa mertu ta’ ħafna iżjed idejn minn dawk li kienu involuti fl-aħħar fażi. Għalhekk kuntenti ħafna li f’din l-edizzjoni qed naqsmu din il-pubblikazzjoni magħkom, biex il-poeżiji li ngħataw libsa ġdida permezz tat-traduzzjoni issa tagħtuhom ħajja ġdida permezz tal-qari.
Edituri: Kit Azzopardi, Claudia Gauci, Justine Somerville
Disinn tal-qoxra u setting: Aprille Zammit
Qari tal-provi: Keith Attard
Stampar: Progress Press
Prezz regolari: €15
Prezz speċjali waqt il-Festival: €12
Collected Works from Past Editions
For those of us who can’t say August without saying Festival, for those of us who can’t get enough of the Festival once it starts, every edition is, in its own way, a memorable one. Perhaps it’s still a little early, but we’re anticipating that this edition will be one for the books, for various reasons. Chief among them is our new publication xtaqt li kont merkurju, an anthology celebrating poetry and translation, both of which become our languages during the Festival.
This book comprises 122 poems which were translated into the Maltese during the translation workshops of the Festival’s first sixteen editions. It holds the work of 60 authors and 25 translators. Its title, xtaqt li kont merkurju, is the first line of one of the poems featured in the anthology, and we chose it because mercury’s flexible and transformative nature as a metal liquid represents the flexibility needed in the literary translation process and its transformative potential. As Adrian Grima writes in the anthology’s introduction, it is not only the original text which is “created anew, but also the language it is translated into”.
This is the result of a journey which started several years ago, and the end product reflects the hard work of the many individuals involved along the way. For this reason we are very excited to be sharing this publication with you, in hopes that the poems refashioned by translation are given new life by the readers.
Editors: Kit Azzopardi, Claudia Gauci, Justine Somerville
Cover design and setting: Aprille Zammit
Proofreading: Keith Attard
Printing: Progress Press
Regular price: €15
Special price during the Festival: €12
