Nov 2006
In the month of October 2006, our Company sponsored a book of poems written by a master of the Maltese Language from Siggiewi, Mr Pawlu Aquilina. The book, entitled "Erga' semmaghli l-ghanja" - "Sing me the song again", is a compilation of poems written in the period 2002 -2006. It is a sequel of a first book by the same author published in 1992 under the title "Mill-Berah ta' l-Ghelieqi" - "From the Wide Open Fields".
The book touches a wide range of ideas and topics, as is to be expected from a Poet who lived his life in the village where he was born. These include nature and village life - "Tfuh in-Natura" - "Nature is Full of Fragrance", religion and the human spirit - "Min jifhmek, Mulej?" - "Who can understand you, Oh God?", and nostalgia for the happy childhood days - the title poem:
"Kemm hi hanina l-ghanja tal-flejguta
Li bqajt iddoqq, poeta, tul is-snin
Ta' hajtek, qalb il-berah ta' l-ghelieqi,
Kemm farag u kemm thenni qlub sajmin"
(Erga' Semmaghli l-Ghanja)
"How kind your song of the flute is, Oh Poet!
Which you continue to sound along the years of your life,
amidst the wide open fields,
consoling and cheering the lonely hearts".
Maltese literature is rich when considering the smallness of the country and the limited number of people who express themselves using the Maltese Language. When considering everything, we find we can boast of a language of our own that has a full grammar, lexicography, and literature enriched with poetry of the highest order. To those who use it fluently, the Maltese Language is a good medium to express ideas. Pawlu Aquilina is no new comer in the realm of Maltese poetry. His early poems were included in the famous collection of national poems compiled by the Prof Guze Aquilina, renowned scholar of Maltese and first dean of the faculty of the language at the University of Malta way back in 1969. The publication I refer to is entitled "Il-Muza Maltija" - "The Maltese Muse".
Our Company is proud to have had the opportunity to sponsor Pawlu Aquilina's publication of his recent collection of poems. Typically of Mr Aquilina, he decided to offer all proceeds from the sale of the book to charity, as in his previous publications. The beneficiary is again Dar tal-Providenza in Siggiewi, which the Poet holds so much at heart.
The book is on sale (Lm 3) at:
Klabb Kotba Maltin, 3a Strait Street, Valletta;
PEG Bookshop, 115 St John's Street, Valletta;
Louis' Stationery, St Nicholas Square, Siggiewi
OR by post (Lm 3.20c) direct from the author:
Mr P. Aquilina, 97 Dr N. Zammit Street, Siggiewi QRM 12 Malta.
