Enduring relevance of Dun Karm

The recent article in The Times doubting whether Dun Karm is still relevant (October 21) incorporates a question both alarming and surprising, and I await someone among the heavyweights of our Akkademja to reply to it in clarification.

Romantic in thought and sentiment, Dun Karm is purely classical in relation to his own literature. He will never cease to be a criterion for the use of language, and beauty of diction will always be measured against his use of words "because in him one can appreciate the beauty of language". His poetry is relevant to us today just as Shakespeare is to today's England and Dante to the Italians: naturally not a universal affirmative statement this, because there is certainly no relevance in its full meaning, to the uneducated and to the tasteless and unthinking. But to all, and forever, our national poet leaves an open invitation, heeded or unheeded, a glow with Heaven's light for body and spirit.

True poetry is immortal. It redeems from decay the visitations on the divinity in man. Its natural podium is transience, love and beauty; death and the mysteries of nature, all of which incorporate the scenario of human life on the road to eternity. Clearly Dun Karm's poetry is replete with all of these and equally clearly, there are the arenas where human intent never fails, even if all else fails.

On a personal note, I would suggest that the author of the article look up my Mdina Lyrics And Other Poems, notably Lil Dunkarm and Għal Dun Karm (free copy available) which can help in the assessment of the relevance.

Unfortunately, readership of Dun Karm's poetry at national level is reputedly poor and I would humbly counsel the teaching class everywhere to put the learners on appreciative fire, starting at the very beginning, to make the truly poetic experience attractive and elevating.

This is what it should be and in this light, it is indeed regrettable that even recent poetry publications in Maltese make one feel like dropping a rose petal down Dingli Cliffs and waiting for an echo.