Minn Xtut in-Nil (From the Banks of the River Nile) is a new edition of an anthology of twelve short stories written by Maltese-Egyptians in Egypt in the early 20th century, published by SKS. Originally, these novels were published in Port Said, Egypt in 1937 by the Ix-Xirka għat-Tixrid tal-Qari Malti (Society for the Dissemination of Maltese Reading) established in Egypt in 1936 and spearheaded by Ivo Muscat Azzopardi and Anton G. Said. They were aimed at reaching a population of 20,000 Maltese who had emigrated to Egypt.
The Anthology contains four stories by Ivo Muscat Azzopardi entitled Is-Sarraf (The Money-Changer), Fuq it-Tramm (Aboard the tram), Qerq! (Deceipt!) and Mewt lill-Imħabba (Death to Love). Anton G.Said wrote Meta x-Xitan ideffes denbu (When the Devil pushes its tail). Ant. Bajada wrote Nisa! (Women!), while F.G.C wrote Fit-theżżiża ta’ Malta tas-Sena 1887 (Malta’s Earthwake of 1887), The anthology includes L-Imherwel (Frenzied) by Richard Zahra. This anthology also features two female authors namely Mary Said with Il-Għażla ta’ Klara (Klara’s choice) and Marie Greck’s Id-Dmir (Duty) and Rosette (Rosette).
The latter,of Greek descent, was married to Maltese composer Alexandre Greck in Egypt but passed away shortly before the first edition was published. Another short story - Il-Gidba tal-Mejjet (The deadman’s lie) was translated into Maltese by Salem Ħassan, an Egyptian who learned to write in Maltese.
Maltese-Egyptian authors kept in touch with contemporary writers in Malta including Dun Karm, Nikol Biancardi, John F. Marks, Ġuzè Bonnici, Ninu Cremona, Fr Wistin Born, Rużar Briffa, Ġużè Galea, Ġorġ Pisani, Ġużè Chetcuti, Kelinu Vella Haber, Karmenu Vassallo and F.S Caruana.
Emigration from Malta to Egypt peaked at the beginning of the twentieth century. Maltese and Gozitans alike found their place in the area around the Nile River, then they spread to Alexandria, Cairo and Port Said. The new edition of Minn Xtut in-Nil includes a study by Colette Zammit on literature of the Maltese in Egypt. The Maltese community in Egypt was very active in printing newspapers. This means of communication in such a public space was the voice of the Maltese emigrants. In them they wrote and disseminated political views and were influential on the thoughts of their readers. Through them, the Maltese could stay up to date with what was going on in their homeland while getting to know better the new environment they moved into.
Minn Xtut in-Nil will be launched at the SKS Stand at the Malta Book Festival (October 19-22) at the 'pre-publication price' of. It can be obtained from the online bookshop www.skspublishers.com for the price of €15, delivery by courier included.