The University of Malta Library has announced that the family of Ġużè Chetcuti has donated a collection of manuscripts, letters, photos and other memorabilia of the author. This archive is now available to researchers at the Archives section of the Library and should interest academics and researchers from various disciplines. The listing of this collection has been uploaded on OAR@UM and can be searched through the online portal Hydi.
During the presentation of this new collection on Friday 31 January 2020, the Director of the Library, Mr Kevin J. Ellul talked about the major role played by Ġużè Chetcuti in the development of the Maltese language and literature in the 20th century and about the significance of this acquisition by the Library. Mr Ellul thanked Pro-Rector Prof. Carmen Sammut and Prof. Adrian Grima of the Department of Maltese for facilitating this donation. He also announced that the Library is working on transforming one of its main halls into a state-of-art Archives section.
Prof. Carmen Sammut, Pro-Rector for Student and Staff Affairs and Outreach, thanked the Chetcuti family for their donation. She also thanked the Department of Maltese for its role in this acquisition and the Library for its stirling work. Prof. Carmen said that she would like to see the UM take the initiative when it comes to acquiring collections of leading female figures in order to make their work accessible to as many researchers as possible.
The librarian who worked on this collection, Ms Antida Mizzi, spoke about how she had never met Ġużè Chetcuti in person but while working on this collection she felt that she had got to know him in well. The collection includes writings about the spelling of the Maltese language, many scribblings of poems, translations into English and Italian and translations from French, many plays in Maltese and also in English and Italian, and some interesting correspondence. Ms Mizzi believes that "There is ample room for research in this small but very rich collection."
Prof. Bernard Micallef, from the Department of Maltese, spoke about his encounter with Ġużè Chetcuti when he was working on his dissertation about elements of realism in his prose, "Ħjiel ta' Realiżmu fil-Letteratura Maltija: Ġużè Chetcuti" (1987). The author had given him unique copies of manually bound unpublished novels in order to facilitate his research. Prof. Micallef said that Chetcuti stands out as a novelist who always remained faithful to the philosophy of Determinism and Positivist thought on which he based his Realist narratives. In his work, he gives prominence to the setting and to genetics as factors to determine human behaviour. His protagonists are therefore always victims of the circumstances they find themselves in.
During the presentation at the Library, those present, including Dr Michael Spagnol, Head of the Department of Maltese and other lecturers from the Department, had the opportunity to examine a selection of writings and publications that were on display.