After graduating B.A. from the Royal University of Malta, Richard Spiteri registered as an external student of the University of London which conferred upon him a B.A. Hons degree in French. Later he spent six academic years in France. The Université Grenoble-Alpes conferred upon him, first a “Licence d’enseignement de lettres modernes” et then a “Maîtrise es Lettres”. For the PhD course, he joined the Université de la Sorbonne-Nouvelle Paris3 from where he obtained a “Diplôme d’études approfondies” in 19th and 20th century French literature. He earned a “Doctorat de 3e cycle” in French literature after defending a thesis entitled “Les Structures de l’imaginaire dans la poésie de Benjamin Péret”. Richard Spiteri taught for ten years in Maltese State and Church secondary schools. The University of Malta required his services as lecturer in the Systems of Knowledge course (1988-1990). In 1989, it appointed him lecturer in French and since then he has been fulfilling these duties. He was promoted professor in February 2019.
Surrealism, French authors of Maltese descent, poetics of imagery, transtextuality, the concept of the antimodern, dialogue with Russia in French literature.
