Occhi Vividi, Vivid Eyes, Ochi Vii, Għajnejn Ħajjin 

by Patrick Sammut, Aliki Telesku and Alfred Massa

published by Horizons

Recently I came across a truly interesting and unusual anthology of multilingual poetry called Occhi Vividi, Vivid Eyes, Ochi Vii, Għajnejn Ħajjin, published by Horizons earlier this year. 

I was particularly impressed by the fact that this collection of poems is written in four different languages – Italian, English, Maltese, and Romanian. The book is the result of the collaboration between three European poets – two from Malta and one from ex-Yugoslavia.

Aliki Telesku was originally born in Yugoslavia in 1956 but now lives in Cyprus. Telesku is fluent in several languages and has had her poems published in many different European countries.

During the course of her literary work, she came to know both Alfred Massa and Patrick Sammut, two distinguished and well-known local poets. A number of her poems have been beautifully translated to Maltese by Sammut and are also presented in this book.

Telesku writes poetry using different styles, including free verse and the challenging haiku. Her verses are both philosophical and melancholic. Although several themes appear in her poems, it is poetic creativity, time and the meaning of life which dominate her lines. Thus, while reflecting on poetic creativity, Telesku writes in When the Rainbow Looks for Another:

Do not mourn the passing of time

it must pass

to give way to a better one

while your rainbow is looking for another.

 

In the poem, Time, Telesku writes:

The present is just a blade

between the forgotten veil of night

and the pale caress of anticipation.

I knew it was invincible,

although it never won.

Time!

Sammut is a well-known author of several literary studies and poems. Sammut writes in Maltese, English and Italian. In this book, he presents the reader with a number of poems written in Italian and their translations (by Telesku) to Romanian.  These poems include quite a few exquisite haiku verses about many different subjects, ranging from watching football to the joy of witnessing natural scenery.

Other poems reflect on the horrors associated with the Dachau concentration camp and the victims of wars and dictatorships. In line with his earlier works, Sammut also reflects on the condition of humanity in contemporary times, a condition which he describes as being at odds with our human origins. Thus in Postumanità, he writes:

We are no longer flesh and blood,

we no longer offer our hand to each other,

no more kisses or embraces.

We have become pixels,

we have been digitised.

While in Nuovi Occhi e Vivi, he states:

Progress has distanced us from our roots

we, prodigal sons and daughters,

ungrateful and disrespectful

towards Mother Nature.

Massa is another well-known writer who has been active in the Maltese literary scene for many decades. One of the founders of the Maltese Poets Association, Massa is the author of many novels, short stories, poems and plays. In this anthology, he contributes a number of poems written in Italian and English, some of which were then translated to Romanian by Telesku.

Massa’s poems also touch on many different subjects but contrary to Telesku’s philosophical reflections on life and Sammut’s critical analysis of humanity, they are mostly (though not exclusively) positive descriptions of beautiful experiences that he has witnessed.

In A New Flower, Massa writes:

I smell the fragrance of flowers

coming from a garden nearby.

Mother nature feels proud

enhancing every lane, every path, every field.

Nevertheless, in the same poem, he then discusses his fear of solitude because of the COVID pandemic.

Another common theme in Massa’s poetry is love. In Spring, he declares:

 When you feel your heart

full of love and happiness

and hopes flood

the roots of your life,

then

yes

your spring is near.

The anthology includes a short preface written by the distinguished writer and translator, Alfred Palma, who introduces the poems of the three authors. The poems themselves offer the reader a variety of themes and styles by authors coming from different backgrounds and traditions, but who all share the same devotion to writing poetry about the world which they experience.

A world that is found both inside and outside themselves, and which they vividly evoke in this worthy collection of poems.