Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1285850
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 5 THIS WEEK BOOKS Karl Schembri at his writing desk, while his canine companion Mitti keeps him company Photo by Simine Alam the idea of the playfulness of storytell- ing, including these digressions. On to the reissue of Il-Manifest tal-Kill- er. How do you feel about the book getting a new lease on life through Mer- lin, and how do you feel about it all in retrospect: both in terms of the themat- ic content of the novel itself and how it may or may not remain topical in this day and age, as well as how it sits side by side with other novels in the 'canon' of contemporary Maltese literature that have been published since? I'm very happy that Merlin brought back Il-Manifest on the bookshelves. In a way it takes the publishing history of this book full circle, vindicating it mes- sage of resistance and persistence: from shunned by major publishers, then pub- lished by a total newcomer to the book and literature world (Choppy Books/ MaltaToday), to censored by the Uni- versity radio station, to staged as a play at Notte Bianca, to published again al- most 15 years later, in its third reprint, by Merlin. When Mario Azzopardi, my mentor and literary father, endorsed it whole- heartedly and took it upon himself to edit it in the summer of 2005, and Sav- iour Balzan published it a year later, it was just the beginning of a long journey that pretty much reflected the very fun- damental theme in the novel of freedom of speech and the core, essential need for uncompromising rebellion to con- struct one's identity. And speaking of freedom of expres- sion, news is out that Xarabank has been axed by TVM. I've written and spoken to Peppi directly many times about what I thought of the programme. In the 23 years it has spent on air, Xarabank it- self became an institution. That is not wrong in itself, what I disagreed with was the dumbing down of everything on the public broadcaster. A shame, really, as Peppi is a good man and I wish him well – all I've learnt about standing up for what you believe in and daring to go against the grain, I learnt from him when he was my teacher in secondary school. I hope this will push him to reinvent himself. It doesn't have to be the imperative of ratings. I'd love to see something more intimate, some- thing less obsessed with being popular with everyone, that does not mix ghosts and gossip with fundamental questions about how our country is run, for exam- ple. I don't know much about the canon of Maltese literature and where my novel fits, and I don't really care. What I know is that, 14 years later, the Malta police force has been outed as more incompe- tent than I even portrayed it here, even more corrupt, as we're still getting to understand the extent of Joseph Mus- cat's murderous, nefarious regime that led to Daphne Caruana Galizia being blown up. What I know is that political corrup- tion has become crasser than ever. Un- der Fenech Adami it was plastered with a veneer of the weeping Holy Virgin, a John Dalli with tits, crying at the cor- ruption of conservative values while promoting a capitalist orgy. Under Muscat, corruption is something that is done in your face, on a yacht with your wife and daughters, of which you can barely afford the fucking anchor. Under Fenech Adami, you'd be on iċ-Ċaqnu's payroll and shut up. After Muscat, you meet corruption in a public square and take a fucking selfie wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. So yes, I still think my novel is topi- cal, and will remain for a while. Our na- tional mediocrity and corruption seem stronger than my dream of an anarchist cultural coup, as expounded in my nov- el. But there are also the rays of light that were already there when I wrote it: Moviment Graffitti will be celebrating their 26th anniversary in three months' time – they were the inspiration for many of the characters I love, my he- roes. What do you make of the Maltese literary scene? What would you change about it? I've been away from Malta for over a decade now, but I keep being pleasantly surprised by the sheer volume of publi- cations that keep coming out, and how young new authors are persevering in standing their ground with more and more new writings. I'd love to see even more variety, even more Walid Nabhans – voices from the outside who have be- come intimate insiders. Refugees, mi- grants, foreign workers. What's next for you? I don't know. I have a lot of ideas but not sure which ones of them deserve to live. It-Tifel li Salva d-Dinja, and the new edition of Il-Manifest Tal-Killer, are both published by Merlin Publishers. The Lulu Diaries is published by Ede Books "Under Fenech Adami, you'd be on iċ-Ċaqnu's payroll and shut up. After Muscat, you meet corruption in a public square and take a selfie wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt" A 'Level 12' picture book forming part of the Tikka Qari series, Karl Schembri's It-Tifel Li Salva Id-Dinja is beautifully illustrated and deceptively complex