Immanuel Mifsud receives Homer European Medal of Poetry and Art
The poet says the recognition reflects the wider international reach of Maltese literature.
Maltese poet and writer Immanuel Mifsud has been named one of this year’s laureates of the Homer European Medal of Poetry and Art.
The medal, established in Brussels in 2016, recognises writers and artists for their contribution to literature and the arts. Mifsud shares the honour this year with Syrian Kurdish poet Salim Barakat.
“This was a happy surprise,” Mifsud told Times of Malta.
He said he first learnt about the award through an email from the organisation.
“I thought it was some sort of joke at first, because you can’t believe everything you find in your inbox these days.”
However, the organisation continued contacting him. After looking into it, Mifsud realised the award was genuine and had previously been given to several prominent writers.
Past recipients include Spanish poet Antonio Gamoneda, Estonian poet and philosopher Jaan Kaplinski and Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa.
Mifsud said he was curious to know how the organisation had discovered him and his work. He was told that they “had their spies.”
Although pleased with the award, Mifsud said it also carried a sense of responsibility. He described it as a reminder that Maltese writers could never be sure who might be reading their work.
“When my generation was still emerging writers, we harboured this wish and the ambition to export our work wider afield and now this is becoming a reality.”
He attributed the wider reach of Maltese literature to several developments, including Malta’s accession to the EU, publishers working towards the same goals as authors and translation funds offered by the National Book Council.
Mifsud said the award was not only a recognition of his own work but also evidence that Maltese literature was reaching a wider audience.
“We aren’t better or worse than anyone else.”
He said he hoped the next generation of writers would go even further. He also pointed to the international recognition received by other Maltese writers.
Mifsud has received several literary honours throughout his career.
He won the Malta National Book Prize for prose in 2002 and 2015 and the prize for poetry in 2014, 2016 and 2023. He was also awarded the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011.
He was the first Maltese writer to be hosted by the Library of Congress in the United States and was appointed a Member of the National Order of Merit in 2014.
Despite his long list of achievements, one title has remained out of reach: Malta’s poet laureate.
Announcing the European award on social media, Mifsud posted a screenshot of the organisation’s press release naming him and Barakat as this year’s recipients.
Mifsud is expected to receive the European Medal of Poetry and Art in August, alongside the Minister of Culture, who has already congratulated him personally on his latest accolade.