Immanuel Mifsud (born September 12, 1967, Paola) is a Maltese writer of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

. He was for a time involved in research theatre. He has written novels, short story and poetry collections, and also books for children. In 2011, he became the first Maltese writer to win the

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

In 2014, he was appointed Member of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Malta. Mifsud became the first Maltese writer to be hosted at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where on February 16, 2017, he gave a reading and was interviewed during a special event. In the same year he was commissioned to write a poem for Commonwealth Day; Mifsud read "The Book" during Commonwealth Day Celebration at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

on March 13. Mifsud studied at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

where he was given a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

in 2012. He teaches literature and

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

at the same university.

Prose

1991: ''Stejjer ta' Nies Koroh'' (Stories of Ugly People)
1993: ''Il-Ktieb tas-Sibt Filgħaxija'' (Stories for Saturday Night)
1999: ''Il-Ktieb tal-Maħbubin Midruba'' (The Book of Maimed Lovers)
2002: ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' (Sara Sue Sammut's Strange Stories)
2005: ''Kimika'' (Chemistry)
2006: ''Happy Weekend'' (in English)
2008: ''Stejjer li ma kellhomx jinkitbu'' (Forbidden Tales)
2010: ''Fl-Isem tal-Missier (u tal-Iben)'' (In the Name of the Father (and of the Son))
2014: ''Jutta Heim''
2016: ''Fid-Dlam tal-Lejl Ħarisna'' (In the Dark Night We Looked)
2019: ''L-Aqwa Żmien''

Poetry

1998: ''Fid-Dar ta' Clara'' (At Clara's)
2001: ''Il-Ktieb tar-Riħ u l-Fjuri'' (The Book of the Wind and Flowers)
2004: ''Polska-Slovensko'' (bilingual, Maltese-English)
2005: ''km'' (bilingual, Maltese-English)
2005: ''Confidential Reports'' (in English)
2007: ''Poland Pictures'' (in English)
2013: ''Penelopi Tistenna'' (Penelope Waits)
2016: ''Ħuta'' (Fish)
2016: ''The Play of Waves'' (in English)
2019: ''Sagħtejn u Nofs 'il Bogħod mill-Ġenna'' (Two and a Half Hours Away from Heaven)
2023: ''Għażiż Ġismi'' (My Dear Body)

Theatre

* 2013: translated

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

's ''Don Juan'' for the first edition of the Valletta International Baroque Festival. * 2014: translated and adapted for stage

Nicholas Monsarrat Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR ( 22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–1945), but perhaps known be ...

's ''The Kappillan of Malta''. Produced by Stagun Teatrali Malti for the Malta International Arts Festival (2014). * 2015: wrote '' Faith, Hope u Charity '' for Stagun Teatrali Malti, presented at the Malta International Arts Festival (2015). * 2016: translated Anders Lustgarten's ''Lampedusa'' for Unifaun Theatre. * 2016: wrote this year's edition of ''Il-Qarcilla''. * 2023: wrote ''Dik is-Siġra f'Nofs ta' Triq'' (A Tree in the Middle of a Road), a play in verse, for Theatre Anon. and co-produced with Teatru Malta

Children's literature

2004: ''Stejjer li Kibru fl-Art'' (Stories Growing on the Ground)
2009: ''Orqod, qalbi, Orqod'' (Sleep, my child, Sleep)
2021: ''Paramm Paramm''

Literary awards

*2021: National Literary Award, co-winner, ''Jien-Noti-Jien'' (with Toni Sant) *2016: National Literary Award, winner, ''Ħuta'' *2015: National Literary Award, winner, ''Jutta Heim'' *2014: National Literary Award, winner, ''Penelopi Tistenna'' *2011:

, winner Malta, ''Fl-Isem tal-Missier (tal-iben)'' *2008: Premio Strega Europa, shortlist, ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' *2005: National Literary Award, second place, ''Kimika'' *2002: National Literary Award, winner, ''L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut'' *2001: National Literary Award, second place, ''Il-Ktieb tar-Riħ u l-Fjuri''

References

External links

Immanuel Mifsud's homepage

Immanuel Mifsud at the Library of Congress, February 2017

Immanuel Mifsud reading his poem "The Book" at Westminster Abbey, March 2017
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mifsud, Immanuel 20th-century Maltese poets 21st-century Maltese poets Maltese male poets 1967 births Living people People from Paola, Malta English-language writers from Malta Maltese-language poets Recipients of the National Book Prize