The Anthology of Mischievous Literature brings together a wide spectrum of authors, from Alfred Buttiġieġ to Loranne Vella, Immanuel Mifsud, Ġuże Stagno, as well as Alex Vella Gera and Karl Schembri. The book also includes commentaries on each of the texts by Shana Tabone, Kat Storace, Mark Vella, James Debono and Mark Camilleri, and is translated by Clare Vassallo.

Dar Camilleri will be publishing and launching the English translation of a Maltese language anthology comprising the most controversial literary texts published in Malta over the last 40 years, two of which have been censored, and one that also led to the prosecution and arraignment in court of its author, Alex Vella Gera.

Mischievous literature is rare in Maltese but from the few examples that exist, a collection of entertaining works that are shocking, rebellious, and sometimes even philosophical has been created.

Political and social satire are also aimed at Malta and the Maltese. This is a collection of texts of historical interest that are sharp and entertaining, with intelligent and profound commentaries that provide the historical and social context for these literary pieces.

In this anthology, there is the return of the infamous short story by Vella Gera, Li Tkisser Sewwi (Reap What You Sow) which was censored in 2009; the punk story by Karl Schembri from Il-Manifest tal-Killer (Killer’s Manifesto); the Ultras of the working class by Immanuel Mifsud from L-Stejjer Strambi ta’ Sara Sue Sammut (The Strange Tales of Sara Sue Sammut); the story of the sperm told in the first person by Alfred Buttiġieġ in Dik il-Qtajra (The Droplet) that was censored in the 1980s; the story of two women who fall in love by Loranne Vella in Dawn l-erbat ikmamar l'għandi (These Four Rooms, translated by Kat Storace); and a section from Ġuże Stagno’s debut novel Inbid ta’ Kuljum (Our Daily Wine).

Buttiġieġ's poem-prose story is a first-person narrative of a sperm that was conceived and grew into a baby.

Vella Gera's text Reap what you sow is a first-person narrative of a Maltese man who ends up raping his girlfriend. It caused a lot of controversy when it was published, and many people mistook it for a pornographic story due to misogynistic views of women.

Killer's Manifesto was a story about a group of left-wing activists who free a circus tiger. Ultras recounted the misadventures of a group of young, drug-addled hardcore football fans. Vella's story These Four Rooms pioneered Malta's LGBT literary trends while Stagno’s novel Our Daily Wine spoke to men who saw no meaning in life.

The Anthology of Mischievous Literature will be launched at Housmans Bookshop in London, on March 13 at 6.30 pm (King's Cross). The featured author will be Loranne Vella.