Controversial writer Alex Vella Gera wins prize at Book Awards
Controversial writer Alex Vella Gera has won second prize in the Malta Book Awards section for Literary Prose: Novels and Short Stories in Maltese with Żewġ.
The awards were handed out late yesterday by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi but Mr Vella Gera boycotted the ceremony.
He is currently facing criminal charges over a sexually explicit short story Li Tkisser Sewwi, which appeared in the University newspaper Ir-Realtà.
In a letter circulated to the media yesterday, Mr Vella Gera said he was not comfortable in the presence of the Prime Minister who, as PN leader, set the television station’s media policy
The National Book Prize is the most prestigious literary prize in Malta. It is organised by the National Book Council.
Each year, through the National Book Council, the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family, gives €23,000 in prizes to local authors and publishers.
During the ceremony, the Prime Minister and Education Minister Dolores Cristina did not make reference to the ongoing controversy over censorship and the absence of certain books from libraries.
Ms Cristina spoke on developments in the media and the problems which publishers faced. She said the National Book Awards reflected the good will of those who chose to lift society from chronic apathy. Writers, she said, could not remain idle. They could not enamour with compromise. Writers and authors should be the voice of the nation. The publishers made their dreams come true.
The awards, she added, were a challenge for excellence over mediocrity. To publish a book was relatively easy, and the challenge, therefore, was for every book to be a burst of creativity, not just in what was written, but also in the manner of its publication, since readers always deserved the best.
Allied Publications, the book publishing arm of Allied Newspapers Ltd, won three prizes namely;
Il-politika tal-perswazjoni by Guido de Marco translated in Maltese by Charles Abela Mizzi, which won the first prize in the Special Prize for Translations category.
Il-qari tal-letteratura bejn esperjenza u kritika, edited by Terence Portelli won the first prize in the category for Textbooks in Maltese or foreign language and Exploring the Maltese media landscape, edited by Joseph Borg, Adrian Hillman and Mary Anne Lauri won the second prize in the General Research in Maltese or foreign language.
The awards for books published in 2009 were as follows:
Literary Prose: Novels and Short Stories in Maltese
First Prize
Qed Nistennik Nieżla max-Xita, Pierre J. Mejlak, Merlin Library Ltd
Second Prize
45, Chris Gruppetta, Merlin Library Ltd
(and)
Żewġ, Alex Vella Gera (Self Published)
Prose Non Fiction
First Prize
Panoramic Malta and Gozo, Daniel Cilia, Book Distributors Ltd
Second Prize
It-Tifel tan-Nanna, Ġorġ Peresso, Horizons
Prose Non Fiction: Textbooks
First Prize
Il-Qari tal-Letteratura bejn Esperjenza u Kritika, Terence Portelli, Allied Publications
Poetry in Maltese
First Prize
Weraq Sfajjar fix-Xagħri, Maurice Mifsud Bonnici
Second Prize
Id-Demm Nieżel bħax-Xita, Adrian Grima and Karl Schembri, Edizzjoni Skarta
(and)
Bliet, Norbert Bugeja, Edizzjonijiet Emma Delezio
Poetry in Another Language
First Prize
Poesie, Poems, Poeżija, J.J. Cremona, Klabb Kotba Maltin
Works of Biographical and Historical Research in Maltese or in Another Language
First Prize
Jewellery in Malta, Francesca Balzan, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and Midsea Books
Second Prize
Baroque Painting in Malta, Keith Sciberras, Midsea Books
General Research in Maltese and English
First Prize
Edmund Teuma, Dan hu l-Islam, Taħriġ ta’ Tifsir, ĊAK
Second Prize
Exploring the Maltese Media Landscape, Joseph Borg, Mary Ann Lauri and Adrian Hillman, Allied Publications
Drama in Maltese
First Prize
Ħitan bil-Moffa, Joseph Vella Bondin, Bronk Productions
Second Prize
Ippermettili Nitlaq, Alfred Buttigieg, Klabb Kotba Maltin
Prose for Children
First Prize
Il-Każ Kważi kollu tal-Aħwa de Molizz, Clare Azzopardi, Merlin Library Ltd
Second Prize
Ir-Re Pankrazju jagħlaq Mitt Sena, Clare Azzopardi, Merlin Library Ltd
(and)
Id-Dar fi Sqaq il-Forka, Ivan de Battista, Klabb Kotba Maltin
Prose for Adolscents
First Prize
Il-Ġnien tad-Dmugħ, Simon Bartolo and Loranne Vella, Merlin Library Ltd
Second Prize
L-Aħħar Ġranet ta’ Ciorni u Stejjer Oħra, Mario Azzopardi, Merlin Library Ltd
Poetry and Drama for Children and Adolescents
First Prize
Paroli, Trevor Żahra, Malta Union of Teachers
Translations and Books in Another languages for Children and Adolescents
First Prize
Don’t Cross the Road, Holly/Taqsamx it-Triq, Fuxa, Rita Antoinette Borg
Special Prize for Translations in Maltese or in another language
First Prize
Il-Politika tal-Persważjoni, Charles Abela Mizzi, Allied Publications
Best Illustrator for Children’s Works
Mark Scicluna
Best Production in Maltese
Michael Schiavone/Outlook Coop Inservi, PIN
Best Production in Another Language
Joseph Mizzi, Baroque Paintings in Malta, Midsea Books
Special Lifetime Achievement prize for a person who has contributed greatly in the fields of Literature and Publication
Alfred Palma
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Joe Xuereb
Jan 25th 2011, 12:59
@J.Farrugia (2days.8hours.ago). You would have given him a piece of your mind, would you?! Not rotten eggs and putrid cabbage way past its sell-by date I alluded to in an earlier comment earlier? You reckoned that eggs and cabbage not filthy enough for our Alex? So you chose to give him the filtiest thing you could think of - you mind. Tut! Tut!
Takes one to know one. How very true.
Also, sticks and stones may hurt my hones but words can never touch me. Food for thought, J., food for thought!
PS I can well understand the antipathy felt by many in Malta at words - whether uttered or in print - that are considered lascivious. Maltese society is still very much class-ridden I'm afraid with more than a dash of pseudo-religiosity. A four-letter word doesn't stand a chance.
Ghax ahna puliti, hux?! (because we're of a certain (middle)-class). Oh dear! Ghax ahna m'ahniex hamalli! (we're not working-class/riff-raff). Oh dear! take two.
Joe Xuereb
Jan 23rd 2011, 21:49
AVG wrote his piece in Maltese. In a country where a foreigner listening in on a conversation in Maltese would be forgiven for thinking, don't these people have a language', I think that AVG deserves recognition for that alone. A language is indeed a people's voice. A subdued/subjugated people are deprived of their inherited mode of expression by their conqueror/subjugator. The Maltese do not need a subjugator. They are more than adept at doing a purrfect hatchet job themselves.
If ever there was anything with a clear moralistic message in its title, Li tkisser sewwi is it. What's stopping many from venturing beyond the hurdle that is the four-letter words in the work? When are they going to start to kick away the euphemism-laden shackles that are keeping them as manipulated infantiles.
@J.Schembri. Stop anguishing over under 18s reading this work, so worthless to you but useful to them. This work by AVG could be studied in Social Studies/Sex Education classes. With the help of an unblushing, confident, non-fumbling teacher - surely they exist even in Malta - the under 18s you're so worried about could be taught how NOT to behave. It could do them a world of good.
Luke Scicluna
Jan 23rd 2011, 17:43
What riles me is that books like this get criminal charges but monuments like that at Luqa are 'of artistic value and cannot be censured.'
Andrew Farrugia
Jan 23rd 2011, 18:39
You are correct to a certain extent; AVG's short story (not book, note, for which he was given the award, and which i will read as well as his other work L-Antipodi) should never have ended up in a court of law (somewhere else perhaps). As to the symbolic and protruding thingy at the Luqa roundabout, haven't you been following all the laughter and fun associated with IT? Who said it has not been panned and criticised ?
Luke Scicuna
Jan 24th 2011, 15:43
What you say is true, it has been criticised, but not from an official point of view. Also, Critien was never charged with a criminal offence, as is the case here. We did not end up on international news with our name stained because of this story, but because of that ridiculous monument, after all. It seems that we censor who we want to. If Critien's work is considered 'art', why shouldn't AVG be allowed to write however he wishes? If they find it objectionable they should not buy it, but they shouldn't be allowed to stop other people from buying it. The artistic character of an artist is something that should never be tampered with.
Raymond Cutajar
Jan 21st 2011, 22:13
"Writers and authers should be the voice of a nation " ?? and citezens of integrity and honesty should be snubbed so as not to shame a nation ! ( after all the intention is far from actually that
What a pity this country finds itself Realy a pity with so much intellectuals who are afraid to realy call a spade what actually It Isa SPADE no more no less .
Well done Alex and thanks
J. Schembri
Jan 21st 2011, 16:39
Alex Vella Gera can publish whatever he likes , I cannot find any guilt in him for writing what he wrote even though I consider it as worthless, I object for his work being published in a magazine meant for people under 18. The editor /publisher should have seen to it that that issue of Realta was rated for people aged 18 or more , and not left in the students rooms of the Juniour College and the university where anyone is free to enter and grab a copy.
We shouldn’t make the University a no-go area for teenagers because adult material is being circulated for free on campus.
Ramon Mizzi
Jan 21st 2011, 16:24
"In a letter circulated to the media yesterday, Mr Vella Gera said he was not comfortable in the presence of the Prime Minister who, as PN leader, set the television station’s media policy." Well said Alex, you couldn't be more right ..... Well done for the award.... You showed this island what a great writer you are, not matter how much they try to censor you... Well done.
J Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 18:20
a great writer?! Macchiavelli!. He showed himself to be an arrogant vulgar and stupid parrot whose not worth a line of importance. His presence would have dishonoured me and I would have left my seat after giving him a piece of my mind.
MBorg
Jan 21st 2011, 19:59
@ J Farrugia
well said ,and so say all of us .
D. Borg
Jan 21st 2011, 21:57
@JF - Doesn't 'giving' require 'having' first?! ;)
jcamilleri
Jan 21st 2011, 22:50
Is Mr Vella Gera going to accept the prize or is he going to give it to some benevolent fund for people in need?
Kevin Saliba
Jan 22nd 2011, 04:30
@J Farrugia: Did you attend the ceremony?
R Muscat
Jan 23rd 2011, 09:03
Well said Ramon.
@J Farrugia by any chance is this a case of sour grapes? Did you write something and recieve NO acknowlegment? Well with a mentality like yours it does not surprise me, stop living in the middle ages learn to respect other peoples opinions and then maybe you may get the proper inspiration to write something worth reading!!!!!
Adrian Cachia
Jan 21st 2011, 15:54
Well done Mr. Vella Gera.
There are far worse things happening in the world and being shown on TV.
If that story is making people feel sick they should just lock themselves in a cupboard, it was just a plain simple truth that one can hear with his own ears.
Joe Xuereb
Jan 21st 2011, 15:17
PS. 'Siewi' (useful) hu l-aggettiv. 'Siwi' (usefuness) hu n-nom. Now that is what I call blasfemy in Maltese!
Joe Xuereb
Jan 21st 2011, 15:12
Someone said, and I quote: '....u ghandi dritt nghid li ma nara xejn fiha ta' siewi ghal-lingwa taghna'. Excuse me, but words, sacred or profane, exist in Maltese and any language, whether they are on the printed page or not. Therefore, the profanity is all in the reader's mind.
Anybody walking into this 'audience' unawares would be forgiven for asking, may I have a whisky please but where's the cadaver? The glum faces remind me of a wake in other words. Why the mortified looks at a celebratory event? Is it disgust at an undeserved prize? Is it disappointment that Vella Gera did not get a first? Maybe disappointment at having to take rotten eggs and putrid cabbages back home seeing Alex decided not to turn up?
Maybe he decided to employ his time more usefully be more writing debunking Maltese myths that need debunking.
Congratulations to Alex. The writing may not be first class but the message, and the fact that it is written in Maltese - these alone are worth the accolade.
MBorg
Jan 21st 2011, 13:27
I have not read Zewg and if it is in the same " artistic class " as his other vulgar short story I do not think that I am missing anything.
This is Malta could it be that the Nation Book Council wanted to give him a helping hand , to show us that he has somthing to offer ?
Onr reads a book for pleasure or to broaden ones knowledge. You have to be sick to get any pleasure out of Li Tkisser Sewwi and you will certainly not get any marks for learning how to blaspheme and how to be vulgar
RMangion
Jan 21st 2011, 15:13
inquisition 2011 :)
MBorg
Jan 21st 2011, 15:47
@ RMangion
No , just sound of mind and good taste.
G Galea
Jan 23rd 2011, 09:34
@ M Borg
Empty vessels make most sound
If you really possess these qualities you would have written the article or would have been on the judicial board itself and not scribbling comments.
Live and let live!
L. Cutajar
Jan 21st 2011, 13:22
The Malta Book awards chose Alex Gera for second prize in order to support him for his current criminal court charges against him and not for his writing. This is purely evident. Gera should admit in public that he made a mistake with writing such vulgarity in the article 'Li tkisser sewwi'.
A Zammit
Jan 22nd 2011, 11:13
Why should anyone apologise for his writings? (unless unjustly defaming someone). Pardon me, but I thought I was living in a free country, where we have Freedom of Speech (a basic human right, in case you weren't aware). You may not agree with him, you may not like his writings (I didn't like Li Tkisser Sewwi either) but you do NOT have the right to shut him (or anyone else for that matter) up. Everyone in this country needs to learn how to live and let live and accept that different people have different ideas.
R Muscat
Jan 21st 2011, 13:10
Cogratulations of Alex Vella Gera for winning this literary prize. Slap in the face to all those who would like to turn back time and send us all back to the dark ages of the inquisition.
J Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 14:58
you're wrong we dont consider it a slap on our face for winning this prize. These book awards for me are just a sham. There are far more beautiful and interesting books which were not in the competition. Vulgarity is not in our agenda. AVG seems to admit he is vulgar and obscene for uttering and even writing those perverse words. We dont fall into that level. I am proud of not having to resort to such vulgarity which debase man like AVG did..
J. Borg
Jan 21st 2011, 15:46
'.....debase man...' Mr. Farrugia?
I beg you to read again some of the comments you have been gifting readers with
Honestly, at first I was bemused , but now I am to a certain degree shocked with them!
m.portelli
Jan 21st 2011, 12:31
Is there any one who didn't find The Minister of Education, the Hon. Dolores Cristina's speech yesterday extraordinary enlightening? Who would have ever known that her highest literary aspirations for Maltese school library acquisitions and Maltese children are books by Enid Blyton!!!!!! Who ever wrote her speech deserves a prize of his/her own !! The prize for the sorriest speech writer to date!
N.Calleja
Jan 21st 2011, 12:27
Alex Vella Gera should have been awarded 'the most arrogant writer of the year'!! But modern critics want to please such arrogant persons to show that they are avante garde!!!
S. Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 12:14
Jien bdejt naqra dak li kiteb Vella Gera, u sincerament ma komplejtx ghax, il-kelma preciza hija qazzitni l-kitba tieghu. Ma nafx xi pregju fiha!! U ma nafx kif tawh premju wkoll. Naghmilha cara m'iniex favur ic-censura, ghax nemmen fil-liberta, izda qed nikkritika l-kitba tieghu, u ghandi dritt nghid li ma nara xejn fiha ta' siewi ghal-lingwa taghna.
David Caruana
Jan 21st 2011, 15:02
Liema kotba qrajt ta' Vella Gera? Nisperaw li ma waqaftx ma' "Li Tkisser Sewwi" ghax fuq kollox hija qasira wisq biex tiehu idea tajba tal-awtur. F'dak il-kaz nissugerilek L-Antipodi, tal-istess awtur.
Mario Vella
Jan 21st 2011, 12:08
Here take a lemon George.
I personally don't care whether you debase yourself or not. You can boast of such credentials once you face almighty Jesus Christ in heaven. Here on earth, things work somewhat differently.
Wayne Flask
Jan 21st 2011, 12:03
Prosit Alex.
We shouldn't even be fighting to read and watch what we want at this day and age. Mr Farrugia, if there's a waste of funds it's on your subscription to internet, you can actually do without it. You might accidentally stumble across some indecent image or other.
Michael Buhagiar
Jan 21st 2011, 11:56
Nifrah mill-qalb lil Terence Portelli ghall-premju li rebah il-bierah fil-kategorija non-fiction (textbooks). Premju certament misthoqq li jirrifletti l-hila, d-dedikazzjoni u l-entuzjazzmu li bihom Terence jidhol ghal kull bicca xoghol li jaghmel. Prosit mill-gdid!!
George Vassallo
Jan 21st 2011, 11:56
If I want, I can outrun this Alex Vella Gera with obscenities and blasphemies, and would make him wrinkle with disgust, but I will never ever debase myself to such vulgarity. I will not debase myself like he did. Not even animals do that even though they act on instinct..
Wayne Flask
Jan 21st 2011, 12:06
Go on, we'd love to see you do that. Gauntlet thrown. Pick it up.
David Caruana
Jan 21st 2011, 12:50
Let me get this straight... you are admitting that you can OUTRUN the character in 'Li Tkisser Sewwi' with obscenities and blasphemies, and make him make him wrinkle in disgust?
By 'outrunning' him you are also implying that you have better creative abilities in the obscenity and blasphemy sector. Do you practice often, Mr. Vassallo?
If you are able to 'outrun' him, you must have been at least exposed to such language. So if you can hear it on the street, why is it so wrong for an adult to read it on paper or watch it on TV?
MArio VEla
Jan 21st 2011, 11:42
Mr.Farrugia, we'll be willing to hear your comments after you actually read 'Zewg'. (I have no doubt you will refrain from going through such trouble though.)
Here's a hole. Now HIDE. Shush
Andrew Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 12:19
Is this all you can suggest to people who seem to somehow rub you the wrong way? Dispatching them to holes? Hahaha! Don't worry, sooner or later we will all find ourselves in holes of sorts, six feet under, where the worms and bugs will show as much respect as you show others.
Jason Aquilina
Jan 21st 2011, 11:05
The gross treatment that Alex Vella Gera, Mark Camilleri and many others have been subjected to by the cultural Taliban lends full credence to the fact that Malta is in dire need of a cultural enema ASAP, What's happening here can easily be compared to what Germany had gone through in 1937 when you-know-who came about with the 'Entartete Kunst/Musik' term.
Here's a helpful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art
M Xuereb
Jan 21st 2011, 10:40
This guy has guts, in my opinion.. to write a story like that in Malta, where sex is - unfortunately - still regarded as a major taboo, requires courage!
Prosit Alex
Andrew Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 19:11
Yeah, requires courage when you have been quite settled abroad for ages!
J Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 10:35
Literary prize for what? For this man's vulgarity? This is complete madness on those who judged these works. No wonder we dont take this committee seriously. Just waste of funds.
Aldrin Borg
Jan 21st 2011, 10:45
J. Farrugia: How can you make such a claim? Have you read 'Żewġ'? Have you read any of the winners' book?
Micheal Pace
Jan 21st 2011, 10:48
Dear Mr.Farrugia,
Mentality like yours is what keeps our country lacking behind.
Well Done Alex!
David Caruana
Jan 21st 2011, 11:16
Lol!
Mr.Farrugia, can you please enlighten us and tell us which of Vella Gera's works have you had the pleasure to read?
Prosit Alex!
Sheldon Camilleri
Jan 21st 2011, 11:45
Something I will not take seriously is your judgement.
Well Done Alex!
J Farrugia
Jan 21st 2011, 11:58
@ David Caruana. thank God none of his "works". He has absolutely nothing to offer, nothing to teach us. and I just dont accept his vulgarity.
Manuel Debattista
Jan 21st 2011, 12:02
Sur Farrugia - mhux ahjar qabel tharbex xi haga tirrifletti ftit fuq dak li tkun se tghid?
Wayne Flask
Jan 21st 2011, 12:10
Jekk ma qrajtx il-kitba tieghu nista' nkun naf fuqhiex qed tikkummenta mela? Basta hawn min imaqdar u jikkundanna. Imhallef li ma jafx il-kaz - kif jigri fil-pajjizi li ssejhulhom tat-tielet dinja.
David Caruana
Jan 21st 2011, 12:36
@ J Farrugia
That explained exactly what kind of person you are. Thanks for being honest with us.
Kevin Saliba
Jan 22nd 2011, 04:56
@J Farrugia: Għax ma tammettix li wara sena tpeċilqu fil-vojt, dat-tali reġa' tfaċċa minn imkien u mesaħ l-art bikom? Min jaf kemm ittamajt li ma jseħħlu jerbaħ xejn ħalli int u sħabek li tehdew bis-santimonji tkun tistgħu tiġi hawn tiċċelebraw l-iskumnikar kulturali tiegħu mill-komunità letterarja! Min jaf x'għali u lanżit għandek issa eh?
Karl Consiglio
Jan 21st 2011, 10:19
Good on you Alex
M Agius
Jan 21st 2011, 10:16
Well done!