Campus Book Festival 2020

Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb qed iħabbar id-dati u l-mistieden speċjali għall-edizzjoni ta’ dis-sena tal-Festival tal-Ktieb fuq il-Kampus. Is-seba’ edizzjoni tal-Festival se ssir bejn l-Erbgħa 25 u l-Ġimgħa 27 ta’ Marzu fil-Kwadranglu tal-Università ta’ Malta, u se jkun qed isir bil-kollaborazzjoni tal-Għaqda tal-Malti - Università u l-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Istudenti tad-Dipartiment tal-Ingliż (DESA).

Il-mistieden speċjali huwa l-poeta u kittieb ta’ tifkiriet awtobijografiċi Mark Doty. Doty kien l-ewwel Amerikan li rebaħ il-Premju T.S. Eliot fir-Renju Unit fl-1995, u fl-2008 rebaħ il-Premju Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb fl-Istati Uniti bil-ktieb Fire to Fire: new and selected poems (HarperCollins, 2008). Huwa l-awtur ta’ diversi ġabriet poetiċi, fosthom Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (D.R. Godine, 1991), A Swarm, A Flock, A Host: A Compendium of Creatures (Prestel, 2013), u Deep Lane (W.W. Norton, 2015) u anki ġabriet ta’ memoirs bħal Firebird (HarperCollins, 1999), Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy (Beacon Press, 2000) u Dog Years (HarperCollins, 2007). Doty kemm-il darba tqabbel ma’ poeti bħal James Merrill, Walt Whitman u C.P. Cavafy minħabba l-eleganza u l-intelliġenza fil-versi tiegħu.

Doty se jkun magħna waqt il-Festival għal tliet attivitajiet speċjali, waħda kuljum. L-Erbgħa 25 ta’ Marzu ikun parti minn panel li se jiddiskuti l-letteratura queer, il-Ħamis 26 ta’ Marzu jipparteċipa f’sessjoni ta’ klabb tal-kotba ma’ studenti universitarji, imbagħad il-Ġimgħa 27 ta’ Marzu jkun intervistat dwar il-kitba tiegħu. Aktar tard ikun wieħed mill-qarrejja waqt il-Palk Ħieles organizzat minn Inizjamed, li se jkun bit-tema tal-letteratura tal-protesta. Dis-sena ħsibna li namalgamaw il-kunċert tal-mużika, li s-soltu nagħlqu bih, mal-Palk Ħieles.

F’kollaborazzjoni mad-Dipartiment tat-Traduzzjoni, it-Terminoloġija, u l-Istudji fl-Interpretar se jkollna magħna wkoll lit-teorista u skular tal-letteratura komparattiva, Prof. Susan Bassnett, li se tkun intervistata minn Prof. Clare Vassallo. Prof. Bassnett hija l-awtriċi ta’ 20 ktieb, fosthom Translation Studies li kien ippubblikat fl-1980 u minn dakinhar baqa’ dejjem jiġi pprintjat minħabba li sar ktieb importanti ferm fl-għalqa tat-traduzzjoni. Ktieb ieħor seminali huwa Comparative Literature (1993) li nqaleb f’diversi ilsna. L-aktar xogħlijiet riċenti tagħha huma Political Discourse, Media and Translation (2010), miktub ma’ Cristina Schaeffner, u Reflections on Translation (2011). Minbarra r-riċerka akkademika tagħha u l-kontribut ġurnalistiku f’bosta gazzetti internazzjonali, Prof. Bassnett tikteb ukoll il-poeżija.


L-għan tal-Festival tal-Ktieb fuq il-Kampus hu li jippromwovi l-letteratura u jagħti spazju lill-pubblikaturi u d-distributuri tal-kotba biex jiltaqgħu, jippromwovu u jbigħu l-pubblikazzjonijiet tagħhom ma’ udjenza matura bħalma huma l-istudenti fil-livill postsekondarju u terzjajru. Il-Festival huwa mimli b’attivitajiet li jvarjaw minn workshops u films marbuta mal-letteratura, sa qari u intervisti ma’ awturi u illustraturi, kif ukoll diskussjonijiet dwar il-lingwa, dawriet iggwidati mal-Librerija tal-Università, mużika lokali u għadd ta’ kollaborazzjonijiet ma’ għaqdiet oħra.

Il-pubblikaturi li se jieħdu sehem dis-sena huma Merlin Publishers, Midsea Books/Klabb Kotba Maltin, BDL, Horizons, EDE Books, SKS, Faraxa Publishing, Pjattaforma u Infinity Books li se jkollhom il-kotba għall-bejgħ. Il-ġranet u l-ħinijiet tal-ftuħ huma: l-Erbgħa 25 u l-Ħamis 26 ta’ Marzu mid-9am sal-4pm, u l-Ġimgħa 27 ta’ Marzu mid-9am sat-8pm. Il-Festival miftuħ għal kulħadd, u d-dħul huwa b’xejn.

Il-programm sħiħ tal-attivitajiet se joħroġ daqt. Ibqgħu segwu s-sit tal-KNK u l-paġna tal-Facebook tal-Festival tal-Ktieb fuq il-Kampus, li se tittella’ fil-jiem li ġejjin, għall-aħħar aġġornamenti.

Tistgħu wkoll tikbtu lil Matthew Borg (matthew.borg@ktieb.org.mt) mill-KNK, lil Romario Sciberras (ghaqdatalmalti@gmail.com) mill-Għaqda tal-Malti - Università, jew lil Matthew Cilia (desa.uom@gmail.com) mid-DESA.
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The National Book Council is announcing the dates and the special guests for this year’s Campus Book Festival. The seventh edition of the Festival will take place between Wednesday 25 and Friday 27 March at the University of Malta Quadrangle, in collaboration with Għaqda tal-Malti - Università and the Department of English Students Association (DESA).

American poet and memoirist Mark Doty will be attending the Campus Book Festival this year. Doty was the first American to win the T.S. Eliot Prize in the U.K in 1995, and in 2008 he won the National Book Award bil-ktieb Fire to Fire: new and selected poems (HarperCollins, 2008). He’s the author of several poetry books, amongst which Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (D.R. Godine, 1991), A Swarm, A Flock, A Host: A Compendium of Creatures (Prestel, 2013), and Deep Lane (W.W. Norton, 2015), and memoirs and nonfiction books such as Firebird (HarperCollins, 1999), Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy (Beacon Press, 2000) and Dog Years (HarperCollins, 2007). Doty has often been compared to James Merrill, Walt Whitman and C.P. Cavafy for his elegant, intelligent verse.

Doty will be engaged in three special events at the Festival, one per day. On Wednesday 25 March he will be part of a panel discussing queer literature; on Thursday 26 March he will be participating at a book-club session with University students; and on Friday 27 March Doty will be interviewed on his literary and non-literary output. Later on the day Mark will be one of the readers during an Open-Mic session organised by Inizjamed, which this year round will be themed around literature of protest and will be accompanied by music of protest.

In collaboration with the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies, the Campus Book Festival 2020 will also host an interview with translation theorist and scholar of comparative literature Prof. Susan Bassnett. She will be interviewed by Prof. Clare Vassallo. Author of over 20 books, Prof. Bassnett’s Translation Studies, which first appeared in 1980, has remained in print ever since and has become an important international textbook in this field. Her Comparative Literature (1993) has also become internationally renowned and has been translated into several languages. Her most recent books are Political Discourse, Media and Translation (2010), co-edited with Cristina Schaeffner, and Reflections on Translation (2011). Beside her academic research, and writing for several national newspapers, Susan Bassnett also writes poetry.


The purpose of the Campus Book Festival is to promote literature across the board while, at the same time, giving publishers and book distributors a space in which they can sell and promote their publications with a mature audience, such as post-secondary and tertiary students. A vast programme of activities will be put up during the festival, ranging from workshops and films related to literature, to readings and interviews with authors, and illustrators – as well as language discussions, guided tours around the University Library, live music and a number of collaborations with student organisations.

The publishers participating at this year’s Campus Book Festival are BDL, Merlin Publishers, Midsea Books/Klabb Kotba Maltin, Horizons, EDE Books, SKS, Faraxa Publishing, Pjattaforma and Infinity Books who will have their books up for sale. Dates and time are as follows: Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 from 9 am to 4 pm, and Friday 27 March from 9 am to 8 pm. The Festival is open to everyone and is free of charge.

The programme of activities will be out soon. Follow the NBC’s website and Campus Book Festival Facebook page for the latest updates.

Fell free to write to get in touch with Matthew Borg (matthew.borg@ktieb.org.mt) from the NBC, Romario Sciberras (ghaqdatalmalti@gmail.com) from Għaqda tal-Malti - Università, and Matthew Cilia (desa.uom@gmail.com) from DESA.