On Tuesday 4 June 2019, from 18:00 to 20:30, in the Faculty of Arts Library of the University of Malta in Tal-Qroqq, the Department of Maltese is hosting a public seminar in Maltese on literary representations of the Sette Giugno uprising. The speakers are Prof. Oliver Friggieri, Prof. Adrian Grima, Maria Simiana, and Mark Vella.
This seminar, which forms part of the series of talks within the course Diploma fil-Letteratura Maltija, will be chaired by Prof. Bernard Micallef, head of the Department of Maltese. Prof. Dominic Fenech, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and a leading historian of early 20th century Malta, will deliver the opening speech.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the June 1919 uprising that cost the lives of four Maltese protesters and the wounding of many others. These tragic events left their mark on Maltese literature, especially on the work of a group of Reformist writers, including 臓u偶猫 Orlando (who wrote an eyewitness account of the events), 臓u偶猫 Bonnici, Juann Mamo, 臓u偶猫 Ellul Mercer, and 臓u偶猫 Chetcuti.
This event is open to the general public and will be followed by light refreshments.
Prof. Oliver Friggieri will be providing an overview of the political and cultural context of the Sette Giugno events, while Prof. Adrian Grima will be talking about the writings of Juann Mamo and 膴ensu Bugeja about this uprising. Maria Simiana will focus on the writings of 臓u偶猫 Orlando, 臓u偶猫 Bonnici and 臓u偶猫 Chetcuti. Mark Vella will take his lead from the only reference to the Sette Giugno events in the literary work of 臓u偶猫 Ellul Mercer to raise a number of questions and issues about the relationship between history, politics and literature.
In his eyewitness account, 臓u偶猫 Orlando says that he wanted to make sure that in the future, no "pharisees" would try to impose a skewed interpretation of a revolt that was motivated by nothing but patriotic ideals.
Two books about the Sette Giugno will be on sale at a special price during the seminar: Ir-Rivoluzzjoni Maltija by Michael A. Sant (SKS 2009) and the second, revised edition of X鈥橩ien 臓ara Sew fis-Sette Giugno by Paul Bartolo (KKM 2019).
More information is available on the Facebook page of the Department of Maltese of the University of Malta or by writing to Prof. Adrian Grima.
