Immanuel Mifsud (born September 12, 1967) is a writer of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...

, born in

Paola, Malta Paola ( mt, Raħal Ġdid, it, Casal Nuovo, both meaning "New Town") is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with 8,706 inhabitants as of 2019. The town is a commercial centre in the Southern Harbour area of Malta, about 5 km from th ...

. He was for a time involved in research theatre. He has written six collections of short stories, six poetry collections, and also children stories. In 2011, he became the first Maltese writer to win the

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

. In 2014, he was appointed Member of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Malta. Mifsud became the first Maltese writer to be hosted at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where on February 16, 2017, he gave a reading and was interviewed during a special event. In the same year he was commissioned to write a poem for Commonwealth Day; Mifsud read "The Book" during Commonwealth Day Celebration at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

on March 13. Mifsud studied at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

where he was given a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in 2012. He teaches literature and literary theory at the same university.

Prose

1991: ''Stejjer ta' Nies Koroh'' (Stories of Ugly People)
1993: ''Il-Ktieb tas-Sibt Filgħaxija'' (Stories for Saturday Night)
1999: ''Il-Ktieb tal-Maħbubin Midruba'' (The Book of Maimed Lovers)
2002: ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' (Sara Sue Sammut's Strange Stories)
2005: ''Kimika'' (Chemistry)
2006: ''Happy Weekend'' (in English)
2008: ''Stejjer li ma kellhomx jinkitbu'' (Forbidden Tales)
2010: ''Fl-Isem tal-Missier (u tal-Iben)'' (In the Name of the Father (and of the Son))
2014: ''Jutta Heim''
2016: ''Fid-Dlam tal-Lejl Ħarisna'' (In the Dark Night We Looked)
2019: ''L-Aqwa Żmien''

Poetry

1998: ''Fid-Dar ta' Clara'' (At Clara's)
2001: ''Il-Ktieb tar-Riħ u l-Fjuri'' (The Book of the Wind and Flowers)
2004: ''Polska-Slovensko'' (bilingual, Maltese-English)
2005: ''km'' (bilingual, Maltese-English)
2005: ''Confidential Reports'' (in English)
2007: ''Poland Pictures'' (in English)
2013: ''Penelopi Tistenna'' (Penelope Waits)
2016: ''Ħuta'' (Fish)
2016: ''The Play of Waves'' (in English)
2019: ''Sagħtejn u Nofs 'il Bogħod mill-Ġenna'' (Two and a Half Hours Away from Heaven)
2023: ''Għażiż Ġismi'' (My Dear Body)

Theatre

* 2013: translated Molière's ''Don Juan'' for the first edition of the

Valletta International Baroque Festival The Valletta International Baroque Festival is one of the largest music festivals of Malta. It was founded by its present Artistic Director Kenneth Zammit Tabona in 2013. The programmatic focus is on baroque and early music. History Since its e ...

. * 2014: translated and adapted for stage

Nicholas Monsarrat Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR (22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–45), but perhaps known best i ...

's ''The Kappillan of Malta''. Produced by Stagun Teatrali Malti for the Malta International Arts Festival (2014). * 2015: wrote '' Faith, Hope u Charity '' for Stagun Teatrali Malti, presented at the Malta International Arts Festival (2015). * 2016: translated

Anders Lustgarten Anders Lustgarten is a British playwright, who resides in London. Early life Lustgarten is the child of progressive American academics; his mother is Donna Dickenson. He read Chinese Studies at Oxford before heading to Berkeley in California to ...

's ''Lampedusa'' for Unifaun Theatre. * 2016: wrote this year's edition of ''Il-Qarcilla''.

Children's literature

2004: ''Stejjer li Kibru fl-Art'' (Stories Growing on the Ground)
2009: ''Orqod, qalbi, Orqod'' (Sleep, my child, Sleep)
2021: ''Paramm Paramm''

Literary awards

*2021: National Literary Award, co-winner, ''Jien-Noti-Jien'' (with Toni Sant) *2016: National Literary Award, winner, ''Ħuta'' *2015: National Literary Award, winner, ''Jutta Heim'' *2014: National Literary Award, winner, ''Penelopi Tistenna'' *2011:

, winner Malta, ''Fl-Isem tal-Missier (tal-iben)'' *2008: Premio Strega Europa, shortlist, ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' *2005: National Literary Award, second place, ''Kimika'' *2002: National Literary Award, winner, ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' *2001: National Literary Award, second place, ''Il-Ktieb tar-Riħ u l-Fjuri''

References

External links

Immanuel Mifsud's homepage

Immanuel Mifsud at the Library of Congress, February 2017

Immanuel Mifsud reading his poem "The Book" at Westminster Abbey, March 2017
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud, Immanuel 20th-century Maltese poets 21st-century Maltese poets Maltese male poets 1967 births Living people People from Paola, Malta English-language writers from Malta Maltese-language poets Recipients of the National Book Prize