Talk:                The translator as a privileged reader

Date:               Monday, 28th April 2014

Time:               09:00 – 10:00

Place:              Quad.

“Translators are often called priveleged readers; as far as I’m concerned they’re priveleged writers.” – James Woodall.

During this discussion, Prof. Anthony Aquilina will be looking into questions which translation gives rise to. What is it a translator does? How loyal should translators be to the text they are working on? Are translators really privileged? And are they privileged as readers, authors, or both?

Prof. Anthony Aquilina is an Associate  Professor within the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies Faculty of Arts, at the University of Malta.

Talk:                The Philosophy of Ibrahim al-Koni

Date:               Monday, 28th April 2014

Time:               11:00 – 12:00

Place:              Quad.

The works of Ibrahim al-Koni consist in many variations on the themes of wandering, infinite desire, nostalgia and the quest of meaning in the great “emptiness” of desert spaces. Throughout his works, Al-Koni strives to listen to the language of the stones and the world, to let the words express themselves, to recover the forgotten meaning, to embark upon a secret journey to the lost city of Wâw or toward oneself, to regain control of the lost code, and to restore the pact between men and the other creatures.

Calleja wrote “The Philosophy of Desert Metaphors in Ibrahim al-Koni – The Bleeding of the Stone,” an attempt to prise out philosophical reflections in al-Koni’s text through the study of two variables: metaphors and desert.

Calleja was educated at St. Edward’s College, Malta and the University of Malta. He holds a B.A. (Hons.) in Arabic Studies and Sociology, and an M.A. in Arabic. The author’s main interests lie in the areas of philosophy, history, literature and sociology. 

Discussion:      Sexuality in Maltese Literature

Date:               Monday, 28th April 2014

Time:               12:30 – 13:30

Place:              Quad.

Is sexuality a new topic in Maltese Literature? Even though writings by Mario Azzopardi, Alex Vella Gera and Trevor Żahra stirred up a lot of controversies, the play Jiena Nħobb, Inti Tħobb, which revolves around the theme of sexuality gave rise to this topic. Yet, are the arguments about the topic still the same?

The image of a homosexual couple happy with their baby seems to have irritated some people, whilst nudity didn’t seem to that much of an issue.  All of this, happened and is happening during a time when homosexual issues are a national debate. Thus, we ask: are sexual themes new to Maltese literature and art? Is progress being made when it comes to the way we use sexuality in art and literature? Are these debates being stirred only in Malta?

The speakers for this discussion are: Celine Agius, Sean Buhagiar, Immanuel Mifsud, Aleks Farrugia and Trevor Żahra. The discussion is going to be lead by Charles Calleja. The opinions expressed during this session are solely those of the participants.

This discussion will be in Maltese.

Film:    Fight Club, with Maltese subtitles

Date:   Monday, 28th April 2014

Ħin:     09:00 – 15:00

Post:    Common Room

The film lasts 2 hours and 20 minutes, yet it shall be shown consecutively.

How does one of your favourite films look like with Maltese subtitles? Simon Cassar, with the help of Professor Anthony Aquilina, is the mind behind this project in which the film Fight Club was presented to the public with Maltese subtitles.

This film was shown for the first time during Evenings on Campus 2013. The film’s contents might be offensive to some people. Children under 16 years of age are not encouraged to attend. 

Reading and discussion:        TAĦŻIŻ2, transession

Data:               Monday, 28th April 2014

Time:               19.30 – 20.30

Place:              Quad.

Taħżiż2 an empowerment program which focuses on creative writing by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, being coordinated by the Għaqda tal-Malti and Fondazzjoni AWL. This is the second year running, after the first program was successfully wrapped up by eight participants who were published in a book.

For this second edition we have six participants coming from different life spheres, both Maltese and Gozitan. Up till now they attended for the first residential seminar out of three. This year, we also planned a meeting between the residential seminars, the first of which shall be held during the Book Festival on Campus.

The participants will be reading their own work whilst discussing it between them and with the audience, with reference to their experience. We encourage those of you who are interesed in creative writing or would like to apply for future editions, to come and join us.

The readings and discussion will be in Maltese. 

Taħdita:          The Legend of Amanda Robins

Date:               Tuesday, 29th April 2014

Time:               09:00 – 10:00

Place:              Quad.

The Legend of Amanda Robins is their first supernatural thriller for young adults by Faraxa Publishers, written by the young, Maltese-American author Corrine Annette Zahra.

Corrine Annette Zahra is 14 years of age, from New York City, USA. Born of Maltese parents, she presently lives in Nadur, Gozo (Maltese Islands). In 2013, Corrine was dual book winner in the Gozo Live Book Fair Competition, coming first in both the short story and play categories with The Vampire Slayer and Back in Time respectively.

For The Legend of Amanda Robins, Corrine says:

First things first, I shall tell you to beware! The day Amanda was born is an important day for she was sent to save human and magical kind on earth. The Legend of Amanda Robins is full of fantasy and mystery. Vampires, werewolves and many other magical creatures roam throughout this book, not to mention humans and Amanda herself. Nowadays, humans do not believe in Amanda, so I am here to show you all how real she is. Deep down, inside, Amanda Robins is an exquisite, legendary, rare and unique creature – one of a kind, even among her own kind. Since Amanda is a legend, I present this story to you, so that you decide whether it is true or not. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Amanda the Magnificent.

Talk:                Bormla: A Struggling Community

Date:               Tuesday, 29th April 2014

Time:               10:30 – 11:30

Place:              Quad.

Bormla  is one of the few community studies conducted on a particular locality in Malta.  The purpose of the talk is to delineate the main issues that evolved when conducted this type of research. 

Dr JosAnn Cutajar is a Senior Lecturer
in Gender Studies
at the Faculty for Social Wellbeing
and the Director
for the Cottonera Resource Centre.

Date:               Tuesday, 29th April 2014

Time:               20:00 – 21:30

Place:              Quad.

During another public reading by the award winning author Immanuel Mifsud, he shall be reading the book Fl-Isem tal-Missier (u tal-Iben). This is the last prose book he published.

This activity is going to be held by the Għaqda tal-Malti during the Book Festival on Campus in collaboration with the National Book Council. 

The reading will be in Maltese.

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               09:30 – 10:30

Place:              Quad.

Prof. Anthony Aquilina we will be delivering a talk about a number of translations from French to Maltese, two languages he translates to and from. Professor Aquilina is an Associate  Professor within the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies Faculty of Arts, at the University of Malta.

This talk is being organised by FARAXA Publishing within the Book Festival on Campus organised by the Għaqda tal-Malti – Università in collaboration with the National Book Council.

Talk:                …ħsieb il-ktieb

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               10.30 – 11.30

Place:              Common Room

Even though we borrow books from public libraries, there a number of books which we prefer to buy and keep in our own private library.

This talk will explore the best way to take care of our books tackling topics such as the best way to place a book in order to keep its colour to the best way to organise books to find them easiy in one’s private library.

The speakers will be Dr Theresa Zammit Lupi, book and paper conservator, and  Mr Edward Camilleri, a librarian with the University Library.

This talk will be held in collaboration with the University Library within the Book Festival on Campus organised by the Għaqda tal-Malti – Università in collaboration with the National Book Council and will come to a closure with a few words by the Library Director, Mr Kevin  Ellul.

This talk will be delivered in Maltese.

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               12:00 – 13:00

Place:              Quad.

During this talk we shall be meeting Sheryl Loeffler, a writer and musician who was born and brought up in the USA and has lived and worked in Canada. She served as Senior Writer at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Telecollege Productions Inc. where she wrote scripts on Canadian Political Science. In 2013, she served on the faculty of Write! Kitchener, a workshop offered by The Word Guild.

In April 2005, she came to live and write in Malta – at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea – returning to Canada in May 2006.

In 2014, her first book, A Land in the Storytelling Sea, a book of poems and photographs of Malta, will be published in Malta by FARAXA Publishing, the entity organizing this talk. Her poetry has been published in literary magazines in Canada, the United States, England, Wales, Austria, and Japan.

Talk:                The Philosophy of Michel Foucault

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               13:00 – 14:00

Place:              Quad.

Amongst other books, Calleja wrote The Battle Roar of Silence: Foucault and the Carceral System. This book explores the philosophical rationales sustaining morality, law, punishment and the carceral system as part of the globalisation discourse. This is an interdisciplinary study fusing aspects of sociology and psychoanalysis in a philosophical framework to tender a politically-charged critique of contemporary modes of domination and power.

Calleja was educated at St. Edward’s College, Malta and the University of Malta. He holds a B.A. (Hons.) in Arabic Studies and Sociology, and an M.A. in Arabic. The author’s main interests lie in the areas of philosophy, history, literature and sociology.

Talk:                Kelma ġġib l-oħra: l-użu kreattiv tal-kliem fil-Malti

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               14:00 – 16:00

Place:              Common Room

During this talk organised by the National Council for the Maltese Language, the audience will be briefed about the work of the Council and it’s role in society, in relation to the use of Maltese.

Dr Michael Spagnol, the Head of the Technical Commitee for Terminology within the same Council and the administrator of the Facebook Page, Kelma Kelma, will be dealing with issues such as ways to promote the Maltese language, particularly on social networks. Above all, he will also be showing the beauty of our language and how to be creative by using our language.

This talk will be delivered in Maltese.

Interview:       Speaking truth to power: Hani Shukrallah u Karl Schembri

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               19:30 – 20:30

Place:              Quad.

When Hani Shukrallah, one of Egypt’s most respected journalists, was forced out of Al Ahram Online – Egypt’s largest English language news website – by allies of the Muslim Brotherhood last year, he gave his typical firebrand response to the powers that be: “I have something immeasurably more precious: my dignity and self-respect. What do you have?”

It was not the first time that he found himself in this position. Under Mubarak’s regime in 2005, when he was chief editor of Al Ahram Weekly, he was already dismissed after having written numerous articles criticising Egyptian politics and voicing his skepticism about promised reforms.

Born in Cairo in 1950, Shukrallah was a Marxist student activist during the time of Anwar Sadat, but he was also critical of the dogmatic leftist thinking. Throughout his career as journalist and author, he has always stood up to speak truth to power.

The author of Egypt, the Arabs and the World, will be the main guest at the Book Festival on Campus, where he will be interviewed by Maltese journalist and author Karl Schembri about his latest book, his experiences, the Arab Spring, and the future of Egypt.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.

Music:             The Poems in Leħen il-Malti

Date:               Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Time:               20:30 – 22:00

Place:              Quad.

A one hour modern music session based on the poems found in Leħen il-Malti.

To wrap up all events, Danjeli (keyboards and computer) , Joseph ‘il-bibi’ Camilleri (drummer) and Mariele Zammit (dancing and acting) will be performing a contemporary piece where dancing dictates music digitally. This will happen by a digital signal produced by a special camera which will be transformed to musical notes in Danjeli’s computer to a program he himself wrote. The visuals will work in the same manner. Their piece will involve a number of short theatrical acts on the theme of faith, live music improvised to film by Matthew Grima on the liberty of individuals and singing and dancing specifically adapted for this evening inspired by Leħen il-Malti (32).