Maltese literature gains an autobiography

When President Emeritus Guido de Marco set out to write his book The Politics of Persuasion, his biggest dilemma was whether to do it in English or Maltese.

Persuaded to go for the former, the feedback encouraged him to have it translated into the language he "loves and is a part of him... I always felt it should be in my own language".

It is to the merit of Charles Abela Mizzi's translation that Il-Politika tal-Persważjoni can be sold as "Maltese literature as opposed to a book on politics and history", Prof. de Marco maintained.

And it seems he is being persuaded to work on an Italian version of the autobiography next.

Mr Abela Mizzi worked on the translation over nine months and Prof. de Marco considers himself lucky with the choice. "I have known him for many years and I love his Maltese; I love the way he pronounces it, which is close to my style."

Prof. de Marco was pleased with Mr Abela Mizzi's oeuvre from the start. "He simply knows Maltese. It is not about letting in words that have been introduced from other languages. He knows it as a language that is alive and a pleasure to hear and write."

The Italian saying that the translator is the traitor did not apply in Prof. de Marco's case. On the contrary, Mr Abela Mizzi was "more than an ally, really transplanting my thinking into his translation".

Having discarded the idea of writing the first book in Maltese, Prof. de Marco felt it would have been unfair to embark on the translation himself. "I felt Mr Abela Mizzi would have done a better job... You feel prejudiced when you are translating your own book..." Had Prof. de Marco done it himself, he admits he would have been tempted to make some amendments along the way.

"You know my problem in the law courts. At the time, before the days of photocopiers, we used to make copies of official documents. But mine were never a copy of the original as I always used to change something to improve it.

"It would not have been a translation had I done it," he confessed.

The Politics of Persuasion was published two years ago and Prof. de Marco said sales have been in excess of 10,000 copies. Now, he has also satisfied friends who have told him they prefer to read in Maltese and he does not exclude the possibility of readers wanting both versions.

The book's success is attributed to the fact that it recalls the "objective" history of many a Maltese.

A tireless Prof. de Marco has other plans in the pipeline: a book on diplomacy is in the embryonic stages and he is also considering writing a commentary on Maltese criminal law. But having kept up his lecturing and other commitments, he can only dedicate about two days a week.

"I am probably embarking on these new projects to prolong my time here," he said.