English texts follow the versions in Maltese.
Miriam Calleja | Jan Carson | Leanne Ellul | Itisha Giri | John Portelli
Miriam Calleja
Miriam Calleja hija poeta li tikteb bil-Malti u bl-Ingliż. Tiffoka l-aktar fuq il-poeżija u t-tagħlim tal-kitba kreattiva. Il-kotba tagħha, Pomegranate Heart (EDE Books, 2015) u Inside Skin (EDE Books, 2016), ġew deskritti bħala ‘friski,’ ‘intimi’ u ‘senswali.’ Xogħolha ġie ppubblikat f’numru ta’ kollezzjonijiet ta’ poeżiji madwar id-dinja u l-poeżiji ġew tradotti bis-Sloven, Grieg, Rumen, Franċiż, Norveġiż u Friżjan.
Dan l-aħħar ħarġet ktieb u rekording tal-poeżija twila Remember bħala rikordju ta’ dawn iż-żminijiet tal-pandemija. Kitbet ukoll ġabra ta’ poeżiji ġodda fil-ktieb jismu Stranger Intimacy (EDE Books, 2020).
Fil-2017 ġiet rikonoxxuta min-Network of Young Women Leaders għall-kontribut tagħha fil-qasam tal-arti f’Malta. Din is-sena se tqatta’ perjodu ta’ residenza ġo Starnberg fil-Ġermanja fejn se taħdem fuq proġett li se jiġi ppreżentat fil-Festival tal-poeżija tan-nisa ‘Schamrock’, li se jsir ġo Munich.
Miriam tiffaċilita workshops tal-kitba kreattiva għal kull età. Ġieli tikteb skripts għat-teatru u prestazzjonijiet oħra. Hi tħobb taħdem ma’ artisti f’oqsma differenti u temmen li dawn il-kollaborazzjonijiet għandhom potenzjal li jgħinuna nifhmu lil xulxin. Temmen ukoll li l-poeżija u l-proża, kif ukoll ir-rakkuntar ta’ stejjer, huma għodda importanti għall-għaqda u l-ftehim aħjar bejnietna.
Miriam qrat ix-xogħol tagħha f’numru ta’ pajjiżi fl-Ewropa u fl-Amerika. Taħdem ukoll bħala spiżjara u kittieba fil-qasam tas-saħħa. Tħobb ħafna l-qtates, il-kafè, u l-baħar… u fi żmien ieħor kienet tħobb iżżur pajjiżi oħra. Żur is-sit tagħa fuq miriamcalleja.com.
Ritratt ta’ Kurt Paris.
Miriam Calleja is a bilingual poet and Maltese wordsmith. Her poetry collections, Pomegranate Heart (EDE Books, 2015) and Inside Skin (EDE Books, 2016), have been described as ‘fresh’, ‘intimate’, and ‘sensual’. She has been published in a number of journals and poetry anthologies worldwide, and her work has been translated into Slovene, Greek, Romanian, French, Norwegian, and Frisian.
During the pandemic, her long poem Remember was recorded and published as a memento of these times. Her most recent collection is fresh off the shelves and titled Stranger Intimacy (EDE Books, 2020).
In 2017 she was recognised by the Network of Young Women Leaders as a leading female artist in Malta. This year she will spend some time in Starnberg, Germany, on an artistic residency in preparation for the presentation of her work at the ‘Schamrock’ poetry festival for women in Munich.
She dedicates her time to facilitating creative writing workshops, performing and writing for performances or publications, and devouring books. She has read at events in Malta, the UK, Italy, Berlin, San Francisco, and New York. Miriam believes that poetry and prose are tools for storytelling that encourage unity, connection, and understanding. She has great faith in collaboration as a key to communication.
She moonlights as a health writer and pharmacist, loves the sea, cats, coffee, and, in a time different to this one… travelling. Read more at miriamcalleja.com.
Jan Carson
Jan Carson hija kittieba u faċilatriċi fl-arti komunitarja. Tgħix f’Belfast, l-Irlanda ta’ Fuq. Fost l-oħrajn kitbet ir-rumanz Malcolm Orange Disappears, il-ġabra ta’ novelli Children’s Children (Liberties Press), u żewġ kollezzjonijiet ta’ mikrofizzjoni: Postcard Stories u Postcard Stories 2 (Emma Press). Ir-rumanz tagħha The Fire Starters ġie ppubblikat minn Doubleday, f’April tal-2019. Dan ir-rumanz rebaħ il-Premju tal-Unjoni Ewropea għal-Letteratura tal-Irlanda 2019. Fl-2020, rebaħ il-Premju Kitschies fil-kategorija Fizzjoni Spekulattiva u ġie nnominat għall-Premju tal-Ktieb Dalkey. Għall-futur, Carson għandha ppjanat The Last Resort, serje ta’ novelli għal għaxar programmi fuq Radio 4 tal-BBC. Dan ix-xogħol se jkun akkumpanjat minn kollezzjoni oħra ta’ novelli li se tiġi ppubblikata minn Doubleday fl-ewwel xhur tal-2021. Matul l-2018 Carson kienet l-ewwel kittieba fi Translink/Irish Rail, programm ta’ residenza fejn il-kittieba jimxu minn post għal ieħor fuq it-Trains of Ireland. Waqt il-lockdown ta’ din is-sena, hija kienet il-kittieba fil-programm Open Book Scotland.
Jan Carson is a writer and community arts facilitator based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She has a novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears and short story collection, Children’s Children, (Liberties Press), two micro-fiction collections, Postcard Stories and Postcard Stories 2 (Emma Press). Her novel The Fire Starters was published by Doubleday in April 2019. It won the EU Prize for Literature for Ireland in 2019 and the Kitschies Prize for Speculative Fiction in 2020. It was shortlisted for the Dalkey Book Prize in 2020. The Last Resort, a ten part BBC Radio 4 short story series and accompanying short story collection is forthcoming from Doubleday in early 2021. In 2018 Jan was the inaugural Translink/Irish Rail Roaming Writer in Residence on the Trains of Ireland. She was the Open Book Scotland Writer in Lockdown 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. 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. L-ewwel kollezzjoni ta’ poeżiji tagħha jisimha L-Inventarju tal-Kamra l-Kaħla. 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. In 2016 she was chosen as the emerging writer of the year. Her first novel for youths, Gramma, won the contest ‘Literature for Youths’. Her first collection of poetry is entitled The Blue Room Inventory (L-Inventarju tal-Kamra l-Kaħla). Ellul forms part of a number of cultural entities, namely Inizjamed and HELA.
Itisha Giri
Itisha Giri hija poetessa min-Nepal u tgħix Madrid. Xogħolha deher f’diversi kotba u ġurnali letterarji, fosthom The Aerogram, La.Lit, Of Nepalese Clay, u The House of Snow: An Anthology of the Greatest Writing About Nepal. Giri ġiet mistiedna għall-Festival Mediterranju tal-Poeżija f’Mallorca, u l-poeżiji tagħha ġew tradotti għall-Katalan. Hija l-editriċi tal-antoloġija These Fine Lines: Poems of Restraint and Abandon li ġiet ippubblikata minn SAFU. Bħalissa qiegħda taħdem bħala assistenta editriċi fuq il-poeżija fir-rivista letterarja internazzjonali La.Lit, li tiġi ppubblikata f’Kathmandu. Hija wkoll kokreattriċi ta’ Boju Bajai – podcast ta’ kull xahar li jħares lejn il-kultura u l-politika tan-Nepal minn lenti femminista.
Itisha Giri is a Nepali poet based in Madrid, whose work has appeared in literary journals such as The Aerogram, La.Lit, Of Nepalese Clay, and in The House of Snow: An Anthology of the Greatest Writing About Nepal. Giri was invited as a guest poet to the Mediterranean Poetry Festival in Mallorca, and her poems have been translated into Catalan. She is the editor of poetry anthology These Fine Lines: Poems of Restraint and Abandon, published by SAFU, and she currently works as an assistant editor of poetry for La.Lit; an international literary magazine published in Kathmandu. She is also the co-creator of Boju Bajai – a monthly podcast that looks at Nepal’s cultural and political landscape through feminist lens.
John Portelli
John P. Portelli huwa professur fid-Dipartiment tal-Edukazzjoni tal-Ġustizzja Soċjali, OISE, fl-Università ta’ Toronto. Huwa l-awtur, koawtur u koeditur ta’ 19-il 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). L-aħħar ġabra ta’ poeżija tiegħu hi Imkien għall-Kenn (Malta: Horizons, 2020). Huwa ilu jgħix il-Kanada mill-1977, iżda jqatta’ nofs is-sena f’Malta ta’ qalbu.
John P. Portelli is a Professor in the Department of Social Justice Education, OISE, University of Toronto. He has authored, co-authored and co-edited 19 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). His latest collection of poetry is entitled Imkien għall-Kenn (Malta: Horizons, 2020). He settled in Canada in 1977 but he spends 6 months of the year in his beloved Malta.
English version below.
15-il Sena ta’ Letteratura
Wara l-miżuri mħabbra, ma baqax triq oħra ħlief li jiġi kkanċellat il-Festival. Madankollu, ħafna mix-xogħol li sar speċjalment mill-awturi mistiedna se jiġi ppreżentat lilkom aktar tard. Fi żminijiet bħal dawn, li l-ibbumbardjar bin-numri sar in-norma, għandna bżonn aktar is-suġġettività tal-kliem.
Inizjamed se ttella’ l-15-il edizzjoni tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura, b’differenza.
Wara li għal xhur sħaħ darna saret fortizza, se noħorġu barra u nidħlu f’fortizza oħra, dik ta’ Sant’Iermu. F’dan l-ispazju, se niltaqgħu f’distanza stretta minn xulxin waqt li nħallu l-letteratura u l-mużika tal-mistiedna tagħna tqarribna u ttaffi t-tbegħid fiżiku.
Il-postijiet huma limitati għal inqas minn 100 ruħ fi spazju li skont ir-regoli ġodda jista’ jilqa’ 240 persuna. Għalhekk huwa meħtieġ biljett ta’ €5 għal kull lejla li jista’ jinkiseb minn www.showshappening.com.
Is-sigurtà se tkun prijorità. L-arti se tieħu ħsieb il-bqija.
Dan il-Festival qed jittella’ bi sħab mal-Kunsill Malti tal-Arti.
15 Years of Literature
Following the measures announced, we had to cancel the Festival in its physical form. However, most of the work already done by the guest authors will be shared with you in the near future. At times like these, where being bombarded with daily numbers has become the norm, we need, more than ever, the subjectivity of languages.
Inizjamed is organising the 15th edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, with a difference.
After staying at home for whole months and treating it as a fortress, we are going to venture out and move to another fortress, the one of Saint Elmo. In this space, we can keep at a distance from each other while letting the literature and music of our guests draw us together and soften the physical gap.
Seats are limited to less than 100 people, in a space that according to the new rules affords 240. Therefore a ticket of €5 for each night is required and can be bought from www.showshappening.com.
Security will be our priority. The arts will take care of the rest.
This year’s Festival is being held in partnership with the Arts Council of Malta.
