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3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 JULY 2025 CULTURE Avian symbolism in Unsilenced: Poems for Palestine BIRDS have long been powerful symbols in literature. The imagery of birds has been used to convey complex themes and emotions, allowing writers to explore the depths of human experience. In war poet- ry, birds often symbolise both the longing for freedom and the sombre realities of conflict, often serving as powerful meta- phors for hope, resilience, and the fleeting nature of peace amidst chaos. In the anthology Unsilenced – Poems for Palestine, several poets often use the fragile yet stubborn figure of the bird to express their grief. In Lana Derkac's poetry, birds become tender mourners and gentle heal- ers whose song "wraps up the bones they find /… / as if providing them with new tis- sue," an elegiac imagery that repairs flesh with music. Zeynep Karaca, on the other hand, utilises the avian symbol through a single, fleeting moment of Edenic peace: "the bird singing in the garden" conveys a sense of suspense, since in its fragili- ty, it is dangerously poised on the brink of violence. Similarly, Sonia Maddouri's "cooing of a dove on festive days" drapes peace in memory and ritual; it is as if the dove's gentle yearn is merely emphasising the bitter absence of celebration. Shirani Rajapakse likewise associates "the sounds of gulls" with the idea of a promised peace which, till now, persists in its elusiveness. In other poems of the anthology, avian imagery shifts from comforting to men- acing, mirroring Palestine's brutal reali- ty. Birds become dark omens rather than symbols of hope. Ridvan Ardic's image of black swans choking in a strait suggests the idea that even the most extraordinary creatures suffocate under siege. Further- more, Franca Colozzo's birds are agents of death; with her "Black Ravens" that "sow hatred," she recasts these black birds, once tied to death, as active symbols of human malice. In another poem of hers, she even describes how the "crow's wings" brush "against angel wings" – a salient imagery that dramatises the collision between the oppressors' wickedness and the victims' sanctity. Abigail George's stark imagery depicting "skulls of birds" reduces nature itself to mere bones, a visceral emblem of mortality and violence. Jeftimiljević Lilić turns the dove – traditionally a symbol of peace — into a relentless black observer, hovering as a portent of doom rather than hope, whilst Sonia Maddouri's imagery of "birds pecking the heads of the Bereaved" and Marwan Makhoul's vultures swooping down, on the other hand, transform grief into spectacle. Finally, Mirela Leka Xhavi's description of the cuckoo's lament, pre- sented as both curse and echo beyond the grave, blends folklore with the supernatu- ral, framing sorrow as a spec- tral refrain that haunts the living. Together, these darker avian symbols dramatise how war warps nature's song into silence, flight into entrap- ment, and hope into horror. Across several poems in this anthology, birds seem to trace the fragile arc of Palestinian life from birth to death. Josie di Sciasc- io-Andrews uses an avian extended metaphor to create a contrast between the innocent children "hatching in mine fields" and the perilous setting imposed on their lives. Marwan Makhoul uses similar sym- bolism when he depicts the idea of "two dove's eggs / to hatch, male and female, from me and for me," turning each birth into a hopeful, almost sacred, gift amidst military conflict. The avian metaphor is al- so utilised in the final stages of life. Ghas- san Zaqtan's euphemism, "when the birds sleep," turns death into a collective lull, a moment of sorrowful stillness that blan- kets the living. Franca Colozzo's elegiac use of avian register transfigures the fall- en into a silent, feather-light procession: "Wings spread to the wind, they rise / In a silent procession, / Drifting like feathers, / They ascend into flight / From the hospi- tal in Gaza." T o g e t h e r , these poetic images chart a cycle in which hatch- ing represents miraculous be- ginnings, sleep signifies gentle passage, and flight enacts the soul's ultimate liberation. In these verses dedicated to Palestine and her people, birds carry the weight of hope and grief across every line. Some poets cast them as gentle healers or beacons of inner compassion, wrapping loss in song and carrying fledgling lives through war- torn streets. Others summon darker wings —ravens that sow hatred or vultures that feast on despair. Yet, through images of hatching, peaceful sleep and final flight, these verses trace a full circle. This anthol- ogy suggests that the bird endures as one of the most potent symbols of resilience and release. As Mehmet Murat Ildan once wrote, "Wherever there are birds, there is hope." Written by Dr David Aloisio No need to sparkle: Malta at the 2026 Venice Biennale ADRIAN Abela, Charlie Cauchi and Raphael Vella shall be representing Malta at the prestigious Biennale di Venezia International Art Exhibition in 2026. Established in 1895, La Biennale di Venezia, a platform for the exhibi- tion of works by international artists, is today acknowledged as one of the most prestigious cultural institutions. The 61st edition of the Venice Art Biennale will be held from May 9 to November 22, 2026. No Need to Sparkle: an invitation to surrender to uncertainty and to em- brace 'doubting well' as a philosophy of our unstable times. The pavilion proposes a space which goes contrary to loud, political con- victions, and instead places its trust in a radical uncertainty. No Need to Sparkle exists as a triangulation of be- lief-systems which disintegrate before our eyes. Three works present layered fictions and shifting realities, leading us down unanticipated paths. Convictions and faiths circle each work but lose their significance as universal themes and assumptions of right and wrong, identity, and selfhood are systematically and elegantly dismantled. "In Minor Keys" The 61st Venice Biennale, set to take place in 2026, will be titled "In Minor Keys", curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. This theme, chosen by Kouoh, explores the spaces within "minor keys" in mu- sic, focusing on the poetic, sensory, and ethereal aspects often associated with them. The exhibition will aim to con- nect with "soul frequencies" and find solace, hope, and transcendence with- in these spaces, using the minor key as an allegory for quiet resistance through contemporary art. After a 17-year absence, Malta re- turned to the Biennale di Venezia in 2017 with its own National Pavilion. Malta returned again in 2019, 2022 and in 2024. Prior to that, it had participat- ed with a special exhibition of Maltese Artists in 1958 and a National Pavilion in 1999. Both the 2017 Malta Pavilion (Homo Melitensis: An Incomplete In- ventory in 19 Chapters), the 2019 Malta Pavilion (Maleth / Haven /Port – Heter- otopias of Evocation) and the 2022 Mal- ta Pavilion (Diplomazija Astuta) and the 2024 Malta Pavilion, (I Will Follow the Ship) received international press acclaim, garnering a host of high-pro- file media accolades and acknowledge- ments Arts Council Malta–under the auspic- es of the Ministry for the Arts, Lands and Local Government – is the com- missioner of the Malta Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia. Photo: Shutterstock