New publication in Arabic
The Malta University Publishers have just published Asaatir maa qabl az-Zalaam, a translation into Arabic by Dr Martin Zammit of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies of Oliver Friggieri's collection of short stories Stejjer ghal Qabel Jidlam.
The Malta University Publishers have just published Asaatir maa qabl az-Zalaam, a translation into Arabic by Dr Martin Zammit of the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies of Oliver Friggieri's collection of short stories Stejjer ghal Qabel Jidlam. This work was commissioned by the Fond ghall-Attivitajiet Kulturali Maltin fil-Libja, on the initiative of Dr Richard Vella Laurenti, the Maltese ambassador in Tripoli.
The book opens with a short message by Dr Vella Laurenti, followed by an introduction by Professor Abdul Mawla Bagdadi, visiting lecturer at the Department of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies, and a note by the translator.
The book contains 24 short stories which capture a number of aspects of the Maltese social scene during the Sixties and Seventies. This is the first-ever Arabic publication by a Maltese author. It offers Arab readers the opportunity to have a glimpse of Malta's recent social past when life was much simpler and certain parallels could even be drawn with similar realities in the Arab countries.