Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/975483
maltatoday SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018 38 This Week Of cycles and rhymes Louis Briffa's poetry collection Bil-Boqxiex brims with life JOHN BUTTIGIEG A riveting anthology of poems has just been published by Louis Briffa, an established poet who in 2007 had already given us a mam- moth publication named Bil-Var- loppa, which was a breakthrough on its own and a direct statement that poetry in Malta is alive and kicking. With his new publica- tion, Bil-Boqxiex, Briffa wants to reclaim his right of place in the local literary scene with a pincer that reverberates throughout each and every line of his new anthol- ogy to a point that poet and poem become one and the same. Here I don't intend to enter into the technicalities of the works, as this would require more time and space, however the nine sections of the book typify a passage which echoes the journey of an embryo in the womb of her mother. The metaphor is recurrent to an extent that the poet exults the female fig- ure (which at times morphs into an ecstatic intercourse that is always imparting) as much as the child (his son) for whom he writes one of the best poems in the anthol- ogy. His idea of the female figure is juxtaposed to a level of medita- tion with other cohorts that comb an itinerary that has life's experi- ence as its point of departure and arrival. Briffa is once again regal- ing his readers/listeners with a plethora of sounds and rhythms that make nuances of music and dance a depository that affects the way we look at and into things and relate to them. The poet's communi- cative stream gathers layers upon layers of 'matter' which is not so commonly evoked or properly assimilated in today's frenetic world. He is keen to bring to the surface urgent social issues which need func- tional address, such as the plight of immigration, and connects this urgency with the pervading mystery of suffering on the one hand, and identity on the other. Briffa is a voice that breathes life in life's mean- der of solitude and compan- ionship at one and the same time. His frenzy for life is typical of a young man who is still eager to discover the world (in reverse). His tools, which he manages with excep- tional skill and playfulness (in the form of words), allow him to dream and to set the pace for dreams to become intelligible for reason's sake and emotional for the rest of what makes a human being a vehicle of encompassing munificence. He moves rapidly, from mythological raptures that haunt his imagination; to daily chronicles which reconnect the archaic with the generic (ordinary) and vice-versa. He is comfort- able to dictate the pace as in the traditional hendecasyllable meter as well as his use of the pentam- eter, hexameter and heptameter pulses respectively. He is usually playful with using the different meters according to his needs and moods. In fact in this anthol- ogy, while keeping faithful to the basic rhythms that constitute the basis of a good poem, Briffa also attempts successfully to play with cadences within the same poems as if to indicate that he is now mature enough to try his hand on 'interpretation' of the basic co- horts of meters and their variants. This move from the 'centre' allows Briffa to show his mastery of both language as translated into verse and the different shades that this movement creates to a particular undertaking. For sure, poetic travesty or pseudo-poetics are not elements that can be found in Briffa's liter- ary baggage. He is fine with words and deft with managing his way through the sonority that words expose to him when composing his art. He genuinely portrays his deepest emotions with the con- scious intention to be shared, and once shared transformed in an act of love which like a water stream is always becoming and fresh. today's frenetic world. He is keen to bring to the surface urgent social issues which need func- tional address, such as the plight of immigration, and connects this urgency with the pervading mystery of suffering on the one hand, and identity on the other. Briffa is a voice that breathes life in life's mean- der of solitude and compan- ionship at one and the same time. His frenzy for life is typical of a young man who is still eager to discover the world (in reverse). His tools, which he manages with excep- tional skill and playfulness (in the form of words), allow him Fi żmien ta' daqshekk ikonoklażmu lingwistiku, fejn jidħol il-Malti, Briffa jirnexxilu, l-istess bħall-poeti l-kbar tal-firmament tal-poeżija Maltija, jikteb poeżija li tħabbatha ma' dik ta' Dun Karm u Achille Mizzi. Tarċisju Zarb Il-poeżija ta' Louis Briffa taħdem bħal għodda li testendi r-ruħ estetika, b'mod li s-suriet tal-esperjenza kontemporanja jinħadmu mill-ġdid permezz tas-sensorju misnun sew tal-lingwa nfisha. F'dawn il-poeżiji, l-ispazji li ngħixu fihom – u ġieli wkoll dak li noħolmu – jieħdu lewn u forma vivida f'għajnejn il-qarrej, animati mir-ritmika tat-trab li tagħti xejriet intimi lill-ġisem daqskemm lill-firxa semantika tal-poeżija. Bil-Boqxiex hija ġabra li fiha l-ġmiel jisponta minn xbihat ibridi, u s-saffi taż-żmien jifirdu b'sengħa l-ansjetajiet tal-immedjat u l-politika tiegħu. Briffa jaħdem f'xejriet ġodda t-tensjonijiet vertiġnużi bejn l-annimal u l-modernità, bejn l-offerti tal-mitoloġija u l-isfidi tal- mument postuman. Il-kitba tiegħu tressaq lejna l-lemħiet ta' senswalità mgħobbija b'tifsir li minn jum għal jum faċli jaħarbilna. Briffa jagħtina forma nċanata bil-galbu. L-għarfien ġewwieni, imbagħad, jafdah f'idejna. Norbert Bugeja Din hi t-tieni damma ta' poeżija fekonda ta' Louis Briffa wara l-ġabra prestiġjuża Bil-Varloppa, li mmarkat il-pass wiesa' tal-poeta u naqqxet ismu bħala poeta distint li għandu l-metafora, l-eżuberanza u l-kodiċi tiegħu. Louis Briffa f'din il-ġabra, maġenb l-ewfemiżmu u r-reqqa artistika, juri aktar viġilanza u kuxjenza, u aktar perċezzjoni u maturità u fertilizzazzjoni transkonfinali bejn it-tifsira espliċita u dik intrinsika. Huwa l-interlokutur, u huwa l-medjatur u l-pittur li jaf jissorprendik bil-preżentazzjoni u l-fantastikerija poetika u l-ħolqien ta' sbuħija malli jagħfas il-lingwa bejn subgħajh. Walid Nabhan F'Louis Briffa hemm twaħħid mat-tradizzjoni imma wkoll tbegħid minnha li tagħmlu l-aktar leħen poetiku oriġinali tal-bidu tas-seklu XXI. Paul Buhagiar Il-poeżija ta' Louis Briffa hija kontribut sabiħ fil-letteratura kontemporanja Maltija għax hija xbieha tan-natura tal-bniedem. Is-siwi tagħha din il-poeżija huwa li tinġarr ħajja fi qlub il-qarrejja sensittivi. Aħna l-qarrejja nħossuha bħala verità fi qlubna, mhux bilfors għax it-tiġrib ta' Briffa nkunu għaddejna minnu aħna stess, imma għax il-binja psikoloġika ta' moħħna taqbel magħha. Briffa, bi kliemu poetiku, jagħmel kuntatt mal-liġijiet mentali bażiċi li jiddeterminaw il-perċezzjoni u l-emozzjoni tal-bniedem. Min ikollu sabar biex jifhmu bi sħiħ lil dan il-poeta, isib għarfien profond għax il-poeżija tiegħu hija operattiva. U għandha l-qawwa li tolqot l-istruttura psikoloġika tagħna l-qarrejja. Huwa poeta li jitkellem bħala bniedem fl-ispirtu tal-ħajja. Charles Briffa Protagonista tal-iprem poeżija tal-epoka bikrija Ewro-Maltija bħal Louis Briffa jibda billi jara li l-ħajja, biex tgħixha kif jixirqilha, teżiġi li tiġi tradotta fi kliem. Aħna għandna bżonn nirriproduċu wċuħha kollha, li nantiċipaw il-ġejjieni u niftakru fil-passat, li l-ħajja npinġuha, u anki xi minn daqqiet nidħqu biha. U dan kollu għaliex kull bniedem hu akkanit u ħerqan biex isir jaf aħjar hu min hu. Il-poeta, bħal Pilatu, jerfa' sebgħu l-werrej u jlissen b'leħen miksur bejn il-mogħdrija u l-istmerrija: "Hekk hu l-bniedem!" Peter Serracino Inglott Jidher li bħal ftit poeti oħra li kitbu minn żmien Dun Karm 'l hawn (u dawn tista' tgħoddhom fuq id waħda), Briffa għandu sensibbiltà sħiħa, u wkoll ħakma fuq il-lingwa Maltija li huwa jħaddem b'kunfidenza u preċiżjoni. Achille Mizzi Louis Briffa twieled Ħ'Attard fl-1971 u joqgħod Ħal Luqa. Rebaħ diversi konkorsi fosthom il-Premju Ġieħ Ġużè Aquilina (1998), il-Premju Letterarju Patri Marjanu Vella (2000) u l-Konkors Nazzjonali tal-Poeżija Monsinjur Amante Buontempo (2016). Bejn l-1987 u l-1999 kien qarrej u producer tal-programm letterarju Nixxiegħa. Kien ukoll Editur Letterarju ta' KullĦadd. Fl-2006 ħareġ Bil-Varloppa, ġabra ta' poeżiji u poeproża miktubin bejn l-1985 u l-2005. B'din il-ġabra rebaħ il-Premju Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb (2007). Fl-2009 ħareġ The Tale of a Grasshopper and a Tomato and Other Poems, edizzjoni bilingwi ta' poeżiji maqlubin għall-Ingliż minn Rose Marie Caruana. Huwa Direttur Projects Support mal-Ministeru tal-Ambjent, l-Iżvilupp Sostenibbli u t-Tibdil fil-Klima. 9 7 8 9 9 9 5 7 1 2 0 6 8 ISBN: 978-99957-1-206-8 LOUIS BRIFFA Call for aspiring young writers Poetry and Potato Bags book launched The TAHZIZ6 creative writing programme is open for applicants aged 16 to 35 until May 7 DO you know any youths who write but haven't come across the right opportunity? Or perhaps you dab- ble in writing but you hold back for want of further encouragement? Then you should really consider participating in TAĦŻIŻ6, a crea- tive writing programme which is now in its 6the- dition. Taħżiż trains teens and young adults between the ages of 16 and 35 in creative writ- ing. The call for this edition will re- main open until Monday, May 7. TAĦŻIŻ6 will be spread across monthly seminars, as well as a residential seminar; a selection of some of the writings gener- ated during the workshops will be published and certificates will be awarded at the end of the programme. Some seminars will also be open to the general pub- lic. Participating is free of charge, however a small deposit is re- quired, which will be refunded once the programme is complet- ed successfully. Those interested are to send an email on agenzija.zghazagh@ gov.mt, including their personal details (name and surname; date of birth; postal and electronic address; and mobile number), as well as the following: - other interests besides writing; - introduction and motivation letter; - CV written as a short story in 150 words; - photocopy of the ID card (front and back); and - a poem or short story written recently. The final decision regarding the participants will be in the evaluat- ing board's discretion. There will also be an introductory meeting. This programme is also open to past participants, however priority is given to new ones. TAĦŻIŻ is an empower- ment programme by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, in collaboration with Għaqda tal-Malti – Università; the language of instruction and the fi- nal publication will be in Maltese. More information can be found in this link: www.facebook.com/ events/205306096726574 The Valletta 2018-Leeuwarden 2018 collaboration is a culminating publication for the verse-and- agriculture mash-up project HARKING back to a simpler time when our twin capital of culture for 2018, Leeu- warden, hadn't yet declared a boycott on official visits to Valletta due to problem- atic public comments by the Valletta 2018 Chairman, the publication of the Poetry in Potato Bags initative was launched last week. Five years in the devising and mak- ing, this long-anticipated book is a culmination of this inspired mar- riage of verse and agriculture, and collects various thematically rel- evant poems in one volume. The book includes Maltese poems translated to English, Dutch and Fri- sian and also poetry by Dutch writ- ers translated to other languages. It also includes recipes, experiences and photos, namely that by Mal- tese photographer Giola Cassar. The Maltese editor of this edition is Claudia Gauci. The launch of the book was held on April 26 at Abdilla Importers/ Exporters, Ta' Qali. Poems were read out during the launch, and visi- tors were also given the chance to hear the Safi Band Club and get to taste some good wine and eat some potatoes. In addition to this, poet and bookbinder Glen Calleja bound some poetry books by hand during the event. The night also saw the premiere of the film produced by Kenneth Scicluna which looks at the whole process involved in importing and exporting potatoes and also this pro- ject. The film also features Froukje De Jong without whom this project would not have been possible. This project is a collaboration be- tween Valletta 2018 and Inizjamed together with Leeuwarden 2018.