Maltese Literature with a View: An Interview with Oliver Friggieri

Abstract

Maltese Literature with a View An Interviewwith Oliver Friggieri Charles Briffa :^ : I* ' Fw hen Malta, a nation-state of about 400,000 people, joined the European Union in 2004, it immediately started reaping some of the ben efits of the EU in the form of cultural spillover gains.Within Europe's extraordinary sociocultural diversity, one finds thepolicy of preserving local languages and cultures. Maltese culture started formingpart of thisdiversitywithin a large inte N " grated community, andMaltese writers embraced W>w theconcept of theircountrybeing a component of a large community while stillmamtaining their ^ " ' distinctive national features. The implication is " ~- that cultural diversitywill eventually lead to the strengtheningof thesocial cohesion of theEU. In a matter of a fewyears, translationeffortsincreased because translation is seen as an essential cohesive element. On the problem of migration, EU authori ties believe that the immigration situation in the Mediterranean isbecoming increasinglyalarming, especially in lightof the failureofmost of theEU's anti-immigration patrols in the centralMediter ranean. The continuous arrival of illegal immi grants is affecting the small island enormously. Some Maltese see these young men and women as seekers for a better life and as an imposition on the limited resources and space of the island. The Maltese authorities believe in theprinciple of shared responsibility and are thereforeproposing thatcountries share theburden of illegal immigra tion, and this burden-sharing proposal includes the relocation of refugees toother EU states. The following interview, which must be understood within this recent historical context, aims topresent how an established Maltese writer sees hisworld today.Oliver Friggieri, an exponent of thenew wave ofMaltese literaturein the 1960s, is a professor ofMaltese literature,a novelist, a literary critic, a poet, and a translator (see my article "The Voice of aNation's Conscience: Oliver Friggieri's Fiction in Recent Maltese Literature," WLT [Summer 1997], 495-504). Friggieri's most recent novels form a trilogy, the only one of its kind in Maltese literature. He also published two major verse collections in 1998 and 2002. Friggieri is a political thinker who exarnines everyday life inhis fictionand has become thevoice of a nation inhis poetry. 3 3 CHARLES BRIFFA You and I arewell aware of the factthat Maltese isa small language fora small nation with a great history. Why do you write in Maltese (a language understood by very few)when you can write equally well inEnglish and Italian (and perhaps increase your reading public)? OLIVER FRIGGIERI In thecase of literaryresearch and criticismIwrite in the three languages, but poetry and fictionrequire amedium much closer to my innermost self. In scientific works, words convey knowl edge, conclusions, and are subject to rigorous symmetry, whereas creativity is actually the end result of experience,which in itselfis somehow inexpressible. Iwrite criticism regularly inEnglish and Italian, butmy native tongue is somehow much more than a speech habit tome. I think my fascinationwith the Maltese language has something todo with my upbringing, and particularlywith theway I remember my latemother, who only knewMaltese. Iprefer Maltese mainly out of loyalty toher, and consequently towhole generations. CB Most ofyour characters live ina smallworld but thinkuniversally. Does belonging toa small country have any effecton an author's perception of theworld? OF Yes, and forcefullyso. This is a fundamental point. Smallness and completeness, ifcoexistent,pro vide a unique standpoint. I am mostly concerned with major themes, such as God's relationshipwith the individual, the sense of sufferingand death (whether it is a defeat ormystery), humiliation, and the birthofglory. Indealing with thesemotives, Ihave inadvertently foundmyself indulging inhighly com promising political issues. This has happened tome most inwriting Fil-Parlamentma Jikbrux Fjuri (1986), inwhich I supposedly embarked on a political novel but foundmyself, or else my protagonist, facing ultimate truths. The novel has attracted significantattention,even on the internationalpolitical level,but I simplywanted tonarrate theunpretentious reaction of an average citizen to a prevailing political situ ation in Malta under Dom Mintoff's rule.A troubled period was meant tobe developed intoa paradigm of existence itself.[Editorial note: Mintoff (b. 1916)was leader of Malta's Labour Party forthirty-five years and twice served as primeminister; aftera period ofpolitical violence and social unrest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mintoff resigned as party leader and primeminister in 1984.] Small...