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MALTATODAY 18 August 2019

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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 AUGUST 2019 5 THIS WEEK POETRY Your tripartite role of 'poet-editor- translator' appears to communicate something about the way poets have to navigate their careers nowadays. Would you say that each of your disciplines 'feeds' the other, helping you to sustain yourself and your on-going body of work? My previous job as artistic direc- tor of the art and science initiative PARS (www.parsfoundation.com), and more recently my role as CEO of the Poetry Translation Centre is what pays the bills. I translate poetry from Dutch and Flemish. It's often a good way to consider my own craft as a poet, and I feel an obligation to share these works with my English contemporaries who would other- wise not have access to them. A recent compensation survey of the literary translation sector showed that being a literary translator is no shortcut to riches. Average hourly rates put translators among the low- est paid workers in the EU. Yet where would we be without translation? I mean, imagine if only German speak- ers could hear the work of Kraftwerk or Hildegard von Bingen. Writing poetry doesn't bring in much of an income, either. In truth, most artists don't make a living by being an artist and many take on other work, such as a facilitator in the cultural sector. As austerity continues to chew on the bones of parity, artists are increas- ingly forced to apply their skills not as artists but as social carers and edu- cational workers. Artists are needed more than ever to challenge the sta- tus quo. Yet the role of the artist is under threat. I did a residency at the Rijksakad- emie of Art in Amsterdam about ten years ago and one of the other artists in residence, Sonia Cillari was work- ing on an installation that she enti- tled, The Artist Needs to Rest. It's true, we do! Are you looking forward to participating in and performing at the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival? What are your expectations of the event, and what kind of atmosphere do you think the event will have? I am thrilled to be participating in and performing at the Malta Medi- terranean Literature Festival. An important part of the festival is the translation workshop, where the participating writers get to translate each other's work ahead of the per- formances. Just imagine twelve writ- ers from countries as wide apart as Cameroon, India, Venezuela, Syria and Spain convening in Malta to translate and share their work. Malta has a strong literary and translation legacy, I imagine as a result of its geographical location and strategic history as a religious haven and trad- ing post, and I am proud to be part of that. From what I know of Valletta, the city oozes hospitality, grandeur and plenty of places to meet for con- versation. I imagine the festival to be a space for sharing work, conversa- tion and solidarity. I am also looking forward to good food, the wine, mak- ing new friends and meeting people attending the festival. I enjoy it when people come up and say hello. I hope plenty will. Astrid Alben's Ai! Ai! Pianissimo was published by Arc Publications in 2011. Plainspeak is due out by Pro- totype this coming October. She will be one among the international par- ticipants at this year's edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Fes- tival, which kicks off tonight at 8pm with a discussion entitled 'Is Univer- sality a Myth? The case for literature' at the Undercroft, Valletta. The festi- val will culminate with its traditional three evenings of readings, screen- ings and interviews at Fort St Elmo, Valletta on August 22, 23 and 24 at 8pm. For more information and a full programme, log on to: https://www. inizjamed.org/ Astrid Alben "I became less interested in linear narrative and mesmerised by the textures and layers that poetic language offers, in the way that the shifting daylight relates to architecture" Poet hadn't yet made Earth the jobless vigorously typed not yet news bulletins absolutes weren't yet accident prone lunatics all wore the same garments no one cockgobbled a shame not yet sodomites thought love declarations were daylight saving lies coughed politely from the wings. Words standing still before Poet stood still a harelipped giant bowing his head before the mountain in so doing paying homage to the mountain patiently rivers run down its sides. Collateral Damage by Astrid Alben

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