We often hear the analogy that Malta is a city surrounded by water. And it’s true, our environment is increasingly urban, high rise and densely populated. But a city is more than this stereotype. One man who has spent more time than most in analysing the meaning and metaphor of the ‘city’ is Norbert Bugeja, one of Malta’s leading, young, contemporary poets. We’ll get a chance to see him perform his poetry at the launch of his new anthology ‘Bliet’ (Cities) at 8pm, Friday, 11 December, in the Music Room at St James Cavalier Center for Creativity, Valletta.

Bugeja’s new work is being considered a major contribution to contemporary literature in Maltese. His performance will be accompanied by leading percussionist Renzo Spiteri and acclaimed actor/performer Nicole Bugeja. At the launch, Norbert will perform some of his most popular poems. You’re advised to book early as the event is expected to attract a good audience.

The poems in ‘Bliet’ capture the ‘here and now’ of urban living in cities and towns in and around the Mediterranean as well as in Malta. Bugeja’s poetry carries with it the fascination with journeying, hot on the trail of those unusual stories hidden behind the thick walls, backstreets, squares and narrow pathways where this country and her shadow-cities carry on with their everyday chores.

‘Bliet’ is a relentless autopsy of every nook and cranny we live in and Bugeja leaves no stone unturned. It’s a story in image, rhythm and metaphor; the exhilarating diary of an urban soul that will take you around the steps, ruins, lanes, shopping malls, arenas and rivers that shape the city’s body. From Valletta to Cordoba, from Rome to Seville and Tangiers, from the Birgu’s to the Diju Balli’s of the mind’s eye, ‘Bliet’ is a masterful portrait of our cities’ explosive interiors.

Fellow poet, and critic, Maria Grech Ganado has this to say of Bugeja’s work: “Norbert’s poems remind me of sculpture, with the wind as sculptor. His metaphors are among the strongest I have ever read, his rhythms trance-like. His cities are hewn out of rock but just as simultaneously out of sand. Reading him is like finding a treasure, a rewarding and, to me, a unique experience.’ ‘Bliet’ comes too with an introduction by Dr Adrian Grima, a foremost Maltese literary critic and poet in his own right.

Biog: Norbert Bugeja is a leading writer within the new movement of Maltese literature. His poetry has been published in international poetry journals and read during various poetry festivals. In 2005, he published his first collection of verse, ‘Stay, Fairy Tale, Stay! Memoirs of a City Cast Adrift’ (Midsea Books/Inizjamed, 2005). Norbert Bugeja was awarded his BA (Hons) and MA in English from the University of Malta. As a Commonwealth Doctoral Scholar, he is currently concluding his doctoral thesis and lecturing at the University of Warwick in the UK.

‘Bliet’ is now on sale and is available at major booksellers in Malta and Gozo.

The Event – launch of ‘Bliet’: Norbert Bugeja’s new anthology
When: Friday, 11 December 2009, 8pm.
Where: The Music Room, St James Cavalier, Valletta

The next time you’re baffled by an odd Maltese word on a menu, muttered by an old man in the village square, or perhaps scrawled on the back of a lorry in the dust, then help is at hand. Launched last autumn, the English-Maltese online dictionary – www.englishmaltesedictionary.com – is proving already a popular place to resolve many linguistic puzzles of Malti; ones that fox not just foreigners but the Maltese too.

The online dictionary is the culmination of years of research, and a labour of love, of its compiler Ian Vella. The online English-to-Maltese dictionary is becoming a community-driven project as well; content is constantly growing thanks to responses and suggestions received from users, ranging from university students to Maltese emigrants in Australia and Canada. In the near future, users will also be able to add translations and articles, so it becomes a kind of ‘Wiki’ on the Maltese language.

In fact, Maltese emigrants to the new world are an interesting insight into Maltese. It is thought that they and their descendents may be speaking an older version of the language, with its rigid rules and fewer words derived from alien languages, just as the emigrants did in the ’60s when they left Malta. Maltese in émigré communities may well be speaking a Malti in a time capsule.

The origins and evolution of Maltese are fascinating. The Maltese language was adopted in Malta officially in 1935 when Malta was still an English colony. Estimates on how many people speak it vary, but it’s probably around the 600,000 mark.

The Maltese language became an officially-recognised European Union language, which means that most documents and laws are being translated from English to Maltese. There are also interpreters in the Maltese language. A press contact told me however that the European Parliament and Commission pigeon holes with EU documents in Maltese are always brimming full – implying that Maltese journalists prefer to pick up the English versions.

Most scholars agree that the Maltese language formed after being influenced from a mixture of Arabic and Sicilian dialects. Although Maltese is Semitic in its spoken nature, it is written using the Latin orthographic rules.

Around 75% of the words and rules that exist in the Maltese language at present derive from a dialect spoken in Sicily. Scholars think though that certain rules which these dialects are based upon resemble more the ancient Punic language rather than today’s Italian language.

The Maltese language also borrows vaguely from Arabic morphological rules (that is, the structure and content of words). Recently, a dialect very similar to the Maltese language was discovered being spoken in parts of Tunis. The close geographic location and the historical links between Malta and the Arabic world suggest that some rules have been morphed into the Maltese language.

However Maltese evolves from now on though, its neologisms are sure to be recorded for posterity in the English-Maltese online dictionary!

Photo: Amanda Holmes

You’ve been to Malta and you’ve encountered locals muttering words in a language that seemed like a mix of Arabic, English, and Italian. That’s Maltese for you, the official national language along with English. But, during the couple of days spent here, the only music that you managed to listen to was the cheesy 80s music at the hotel and the thumping never-ending beat of the Paceville clubs. Everything was in English and not a word in Maltese.

Well – ever wondered what contemporary Maltese music is like? Here are three example albums. All were written in the Maltese language and even though most can be termed ‘underground’ – local radio stations hardly play songs in Maltese – they are the most genuine musical voice of the islands’ inhabitants.

Brikkuni – Kuntrabanda

Brikkuni are what the Maltese music scene would look like if more bands and artists bothered writing in their native language. The music is unashamedly Mediterranean and the lyrics speak of contemporary issues. Musically, they are an excellent band and, if you’re into live music, you should look out for their next performances and try not to miss their original presentation and delivery.

More information and song samples at: http://www.myspace.com/brikkuni.

Xtruppaw – Is-CD ta’ l-Xtruppaw

Xtruppaw are one of the quirkiest and funniest local bands around. Their music is punk-oriented, but their songs vary from mild progressive rock to country. Almost all their streetwise lyrics are politically incorrect, but they managed to achieve relative success with the single ‘Diska Cool Għar-Radio’ (translation: A Cool Song for Radio), which speaks about the very issue of writing politically correct songs in order to get radio play!

More information about the band can be found at: www.xtruppaw.com.

Various – L-Għanja tal-Poplu 2008

This is an album which contains all songs that participated in the L-Għanja tal-Poplu (‘The Song of the People’) music contest held on a yearly basis. Around a dozen artists are chosen after submitting their demos. What sets this festival apart is that all songs are performed live on the night, giving it an acoustic and genuine feel. In 2008, Brikkuni won the festival and Walter Micallef, a very well known singer-songwriter, placed second.

More on this festival, including live footage of the 2008 performances, can be found at www.ghanjafest.com/.

Brikkuni photo (above): Oliver deGabriele