The 12th edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival organized by Inizjamed will be held on Thursday 24th, Friday 25th and Saturday 26th August, at Fort St Elmo, in Valletta, at 8.00pm. Twelve writers from eight countries are reading in the festival, which also features Maltese and foreign poetry films, Maltese jazz bands, a book stall, a book binding stand, drinks and food. Entrance to all events is free.

The authors participating in this XIIth edition are Asja Bakić (Bosnia Herzegovina), Mourid  Barghouti (Palestine), Lilia Ben Romdhane (Tunisia), Jean Portante (Luxembourg), Zoë Skoulding (Wales), Ma Thida (Myanmar), Arvis Viguls (Latvia), Gjoko Zdraveski (Republic of Macedonia), and John Aquilina, Mark Camilleri, Immanuel Mifsud, and Alfred Sant from Malta.

Readings will be mostly in Maltese and English, but some works will also be read in their original language.

 

The Festival Programme

 Thursday 24th August:

  • John Aquilina
  • Lilia Ben Romdhane
  • Gjoko Zdraveski
  • Alfred Sant (interviewed by writer and translator Mark Vella)
  • Premiere of 2 Maltese poetry films commissioned by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Inizjamed, presented by Kenneth Scicluna – work by Nicky Aquilina and Lyanne Mifsud representing Maria Grech Ganado’s “Relazzjoni”
  • Jazz guitarist Sandro Zerafa and bassist Oliver Degabriele

Friday 25th August:

  • Mark Camilleri
  • Jean Portante
  • Asja Bakić
  • Mourid Barghouti (interviewed by Norbert Bugeja)
  • Premiere of 2 Maltese poetry films commissioned by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Inizjamed, presented by Kenneth Scicluna
  • John Bartolo on drums and Jimmy Bartolo (Brikkuni) on guitar

Saturday 26th August:

  • Zoë Skoulding
  • Immanuel Mifsud
  • Ma Thida (interviewed by Clare Azzopardi)
  • Foreign poetry film and live music by John Bartolo on drums and Jimmy Bartolo (Brikkuni) on guitar

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

 

Five pre-Festival events

 As part of the run-up to the Festival, Inizjamed is presenting five special events. These events are free and everyone is welcome to attend. The pre-Festival events will start on Sunday 21st August and go on until Saturday 26th August.

In the weeks leading up to the Festival, other literary events involving the invited Maltese writers are being held on Gozo, in a retirement home and at a summer school.

 

Translating Each Other’s Work

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

The 2017 edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival and the Malta LAF translation workshop are being held with the support of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, Arts Council Malta, Heritage Malta, Għaqda tal-Malti – Università, and The Fortress Builders – Fortifications Interpretation Centre. The MMLF is the recipient of the EFFE Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe label.

The Festival can be found on Facebook and on inizjamedmalta.wordpress.com.