A new book Dimech Poeta: Mill-habs ghall-ezilju (Poet Dimech: From prison to exile) by Jessica Micallef presents for the first time a collection of Manwel Dimech poems. These were scattered in various publications and manuscripts. Some of the poems are in Maltese, other in Italian, some in English, and a few in French.

The book includes Maltese translations for the poems written in foreign languages. It also has explanation notes on each poem, and a glossary for words in Maltese which are not in use today (like ‘tehlil’, ‘hegda’ and many others).

The author of the book, Jessica Micallef, is a 22 year old University of Malta graduate from Zebbug. She is a Master of Arts in Maltese Literature. Her intellectual interests mainly focus on how Maltese literature appeared in popular newspapers, and how these writings gave their share in the development of social reform. To this effect, she undertook close studies of laurates like Juann Mamo, Manuel Dimech and others against the historical and cultural background which produced them. The book Dimech Poeta: Mill-habs ghall-ezilju is her first published.

The official launching of the book coincides with the 100 anniversary of Manuel Dimech’s exile. He was exiled on 5 September, 1914 (an exile which ended with his death in Egypt six and a half years later, in 1921). The activity is being held under the patronage of H.E. the President of Malta on the 100th anniversary of Dimech’s exile exactly to the day, time and place. That is, on Friday, 5 September, at 7pm, at the Valletta Waterfront opposite the Lift. The activity includes the laying of wreaths at sea to commemorate Dimech’s exile.

For this activity the public is invited to attend.