OLD FOLK TALES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS
(Kotba Merill, 2006, 64pp., illustrator: Frank Schembri)
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These stories form part of a much larger collection of Maltese folktales gathered by the Jesuit priest Manwel Magri whose 62 tales (including 13 variants) were first published during the period 1900-1907 in the series Kotba tal-Mogħdija taż-Żmien. Eleven of these stories appear here in an English translation by Victor Fenech, who also provides a Foreword and a brief biography of Fr.Magri.
Folktales are an important literary genre and a facet of social history, since they throw light not only on the way of life of a people but also on such interactions as customs, beliefs, and language. They are also constant travellers and important cultural links between diverse countries. Above all, they have proved to be a strongly colourful ingredient in a nation’s collective memory. This selection has all the ingredients normally associated with the Mediterranean folk tradition.
* First Prize winner for Translation in the Malta Literary Awards 2007.
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| The translator, VF, is one of Malta’s foremost poets who has lately turned to writing children’s books…These folktales have many qualities that appeal to children, [they] can influence their social consciousness – enhancing their identity and self-image…The tales are well translated, and the non-Maltese speaker can get an idea of Maltese oral tradition, especially since the translator has tried to preserve the oral feeling in his work. |
Charles Briffa
World Literature Today, Jannar-Frar 2008
University of Oklahoma
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