Life is all about firsts. And for an author, firsts tend to leave an imprint of memories that translate into literature. 

Nadia Mifsud has published two poetry collections, żugraga (2009) and kantuniera ’l bogħod (Skarta Edition, 2015), which was awarded the 2016 National Book Prize for Poetry. She is also a three-time winner of the National Poetry Contest. Her debut novel Ir-rota daret dawra (kważi) sħiħa was published in 2017 (Merlin).  

Mifsud’s work pulls at the heartstrings and sustains an attachment to the characters, lines and episodes throughout her poetry, short stories and novel. 

Her love of literature and her exposure to books, reading and writing started with a parental gesture that would spark not only creativity, but also fuel to produce award-winning material. When she was a young girl, much like every other child, treats and rewards for good doings were ‘expected’ from parental figures in childhood. Mifsud’s mother replaced trivial candy with books, bundles of them, triggering her love for reading. 

The characters of my second novel seem to have self-quarantined, so I’m nowhere close to what I had initially planned and hoped

“I guess I discovered early on that a book is like a secret door that opens onto a totally different world – it's like going on a journey or having the possibility of living several lives. I have also noticed that children who are read to from an early age tend to associate books with fun, family bonding moments. Moreover, reading stories aloud to kids not only helps to expand their imagination, but also introduces them to an extensive vocabulary and develops their grammatical understanding.”

Mifsud’s connection to literature from such a tender age didn’t only take on a passive role in her life. Reading was the fuel but writing poetry was well in her power, even in her primary school years.

“I started writing at a very early age. I can't really tell when I wrote my first poem – writing always felt natural, somehow, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. I do remember, however, writing a poem for my cousin when she went to hospital for appendicitis. I don't remember how old we were, but we were definitely still in primary school.”

Ir-rota daret dawra (kważi) sħiħa (Merlin, 2017)

When a talent is raw and natural, comments such as “I didn't pay much attention to it” make Mifsud’s creative process more appealing. There’s a sense of nonchalance laced with effortless enthusiasm, casual mastery and above all a real knack for giving words everlasting life. But of course there is still a headspace that every writer must enter to create.

“I write best when I'm on my own. I definitely need stimuli from the outside world – sounds, voices, faces, city streets, museums, street art, movies, landscapes – but for the writing itself, I usually try to isolate myself as much as possible. The best place for writing remains home, with my mobile phone on silent mode tucked away somewhere out of reach.”

With exposure to life and arts limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mifsud’s writing process has felt a slight pause. “The characters of my second novel seem to have self-quarantined, so I’m nowhere close to what I had initially planned and hoped.

“I am however writing more poetry, which is quite surprising because I normally need quite a lot of time to digest things before I can actually write about them. Strangely enough, this doesn't seem to be happening with the COVID-19 situation. It could be some form of defence mechanism, a way of warding off anxiety – à situation exceptionnelle, mesures exceptionnelles, as the French would say. But I have to admit I'm glad that I'm writing more regularly than before.”

Reading may have reduced to one book a week for Mifsud, since she is no longer commuting to work, but her bedside table still features enough material to occupy any avid reader’s time. 

“Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, Marguerite Duras, René Char, Jeanne Benameur, Colum McCann, Souad Labbize, Immanuel Mifsud, Antoine Cassar, Nina Bouraoui and a few others – take your pick. I need to have piles of books on my bedside table, a mix of what I'm currently reading, books I've already read but can't detach myself from and others that I can't wait to read, but I've been mostly re-reading all of Toni Morrison's books in the past two or three months in the order she wrote them. But I also try to read some poetry every day."

With influence flowing, inspiration stirring and distraction lost to the process, creating literature is an art that generally takes on different forms as the medium changes, and for Mifsud it’s all about “making oneself available”.

As an author of both prose and poetry in either Maltese or French, she finds that writing poetry in Maltese comes to her more naturally while creating prose in French tends to be her go-to in the language. But it’s not always easy.

“Sometimes there is a long period of gestation too. You feel that something is slowly taking shape somewhere inside you, but it might take a while for it to actually come out. In times of creative slowdown, I try to, at least, jot down lists of words – one word bringing about another and another. If I am truly 'blocked', I get an urge to read, watch movies, go to exhibitions and so on. Sewing and walking also help.

“Of course, poetry and prose are different in that fiction requires more time and sometimes quite a lot of research too. Writing a character implies getting to know her or him well... so you need to spend time with your characters, much in the same way as you would do with real people. Then, of course, there's the editing part which is very often longer than the writing itself but which is definitely part and parcel of the whole process. In general, I would say that poetry is more spontaneous, although there are instances when the editing also takes quite a while.”

Mifsud’s literature includes Maltese prose and poetry such as żugraga (2009), kantuniera ’l bogħod (2015), Ir-rota daret dawra (kważi) sħiħa (2017), each of which provide some sort of relevance to her life. Her first publication żugraga may not be her current favourite, but it seems to be able to withstand the tests of time and still manage to create genuine interest with its readers. 

“Ir-rota daret dawra (kważi) sħiħa still triggers bitter-sweet emotions. When I was writing that book, one of my best friends was dying of cancer, and although it is not an autobiographical novel, the two of us did have lengthy conversations about the ambiguities of motherhood, our experience as parents and so on. So, while writing that book did help me to keep afloat, a lot of the sadness I was going through at that time sort of seeped into the narrative. 

“Kantuniera ’l bogħod was an important step in my creative process – it gave me confidence and I'd say it was while writing those poems that I found my own voice. There are still a few texts in that book which I feel attached to, but I'm now slowly distancing myself from it as I get closer and closer to finishing my third collection.”

With a collection of short stories completed earlier this year, hoping to be published and a third poetry collection well on its way, we might need to make some space on our bookshelves in the near future. Here’s hoping. 

This interview is part of a series of interviews with local authors, supported by the National Book Council. Read interviews with Alex Vella Gera, Clare Azzopardi, and Walid Nabhan.