I was fortunate enough to be invited to his home in Birkirkara for an informal chat about his poetry and extensive collection of things literary. Mr Fabri has published three books of poetry in Maltese, Wesghat bla Tarf, ‘Dwal u Dellijiet and Diwi fir-Rih, but he is definitely more than just a poet. He works at the Mosta Public Library, rising regularly at 4.30am every day. His fascination with books does not limit his imagination that is reflected in the beauty of his writings. But how did this love for reading and poetry actually come about?
‘’The muse for poetry and my passion for all things related to books came early in my life, mostly through the influence of my brother. I spent most of my childhood reading and at the age of seven I already knew about Beethoven, Shakespeare, Mozart and Dun Karm. I have always loved literature, even at school, and have a particular soft spot for poetry. The urge to write came in 1986 when I went for a walk on my own and all of a sudden, inspiration struck me. I rushed home and wrote two poems, one in Maltese, Il Girna and the other in English called ‘Heart of a Patriot’. From that time on I never looked back and have written hundreds of poems in English, Maltese and Italian.”
I asked Noel about the subjects, themes and inspirations which influence his poetry. Sometimes the writing can also be slightly on the dark side, but you tend to agree that this man is definitely a fighter.
“The themes of my poetry are varied but principally I think of myself as a lyrical poet and write chiefly about my personal experiences. But I also write on social themes such as injustice, inequality, wars and poverty among others.
“I am a poet with negative traits but one also has to take into account one’s own personal experiences. In less than a year, our house collapsed and my sister and father died within a few months of each other, the former losing a long battle against cancer. However although my writings may seem morbid and at times dark, I am an optimist notwithstanding all the trials and tribulations I have been through over the years.”
One of the subjects that troubles any artist is the search for inspiration. How does Noel Fabri get his?
“As you know, inspiration does not come when you want it to. As you very well know, one can spend months without writing a single word, and then go through a furious period of activity. I wrote the elegies for my father and sister before they died as I knew their end was near. An interesting fact is that I wrote one of my best poems on an extremely busy day at work. The muse does work in mysterious ways!”
As we talked and swapped experiences, my thoughts turned to Noel’s wonderful collection. How was it acquired and what was the driving force behind the subject matter?
“My collection has been with me almost all my life but in the past few years I acquired a large part of the most precious items in it. I bought a wall unit that was quickly filled and I decided to dedicate another unit as a monument to poetry and the book. One of the items that I treasure most is a collection of letters I received about my poetry, of which there are over 300. I also have a number of anthologies where my poetry was published apart from my three books. There are a large number of priceless first editions, antique books, Melitensia and loads more. Recently I also started collecting coins and other memorabilia all related to poetry and this collection has grown extensively. I believe that a poet is not for his time, but for all time so my collection tries to keep the flame of the muse alive. It is probably quite a unique collection,” he says proudly and deservedly, I must add.
What about Noel’s books and which is his favourite? He is definitely proud of them and each publication brings him a step closer to achieving a higher artistic level.
“Out of my three books, I prefer Diwi fir-Rih my last book, for the simple reason that I had always wanted illustrations in my publication and I achieved this with the paintings of my friend, Mark Schembri, an artist of impeccable calibre. Also, I feel that this book contains some of my best poetry as I have matured considerably and now, my writings contain a certain amount of depth and thought which is very rewarding to me, at least on an artistic level.”
After almost 20 years of writing poetry, what are Noel’s plans for the future?
“I am currently working on my fourth book, and this year I fulfilled another important ambition in my life – the creation of my own website, www.noelfabri.com. The site includes all my poetry from the three books as well as photos, information, features and people’s comments in the form of a guest book, it is actually quite extensive.”
As I left Noel’s house, I pondered on the beauty of literature, all those fascinating artefacts and those antique books going back almost two centuries. If only there were more people like Noel, a quiet unassuming and positive person who is truly at peace with himself. His poetry does reflect this happy state of being.