Lino Bugeja, Marsascala
The winter of despair
Charles Dickens’ opening lines of A Tale Of Two Cities still rang sweetly in my ears. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair” as on February 7 the whole literary world, with the exception of avant garde Malta, celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, one of the best-loved writers in the whole world.
The activities and events held in the far-flung Commonwealth countries did not surprise me in the least but to have the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires, celebrate with pomp and circumstance the literary merits of Dickens in Victorian England with public performances and readings was indeed a revelation. Despite the fact that England and Argentina are again locking horns over the Falklands issue, the Argentinians joined by the most eminent cultural figures have risen above all political considerations to demonstrate that universal literature has no frontiers or barriers.
The veritable literary wasteland on our much vaunted island of culture, which considers William Shakespeare and Dickens as “old hats”, was visible on February 7 when, as far as I know, not a single major event was held to mark the event. If ever there were proof of the paucity and decline of the English language in Malta this was surely it. Unlike Little Oliver we could not even “ask for more” as we had none.
In the circumstances it is most fitting to continue with a Dickensian theme. It is felt that strong under currents have made Malta linguistically “A Bleak House” without any “Great Expectations” inviting “Hard Times”.
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Ingrid Eomois
Feb 23rd, 16:46
Dear Mr Bugeja,
The British Council in Malta is marking the bicentenary of Charles Dickens with an extensive programme of activities.
A film festival "What the Dickens" at St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Valletta opened on January 25 with "The Tale of Two Cities (1958). The next screening will take place on March 17 ("Oliver" (1868)).
On February 28 the British Council in collaboration with Heritage Malta will present a special event at the Maritime Museum, exploring the Dickens-Malta connection. The Victorian Night will include tour of the museum, Victorian food tasting, and a lecture about Dickens and a Maltese seaman. The evening will also feature a short excerpt from the first silent version of "David Copperfield", filmed in 1913.
An article about the British Council's Dickens programme was published in The Times on January 22
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120122/arts-entertainment/What-the-Dickens-.403593
The Maritime Museum event was also mentioned in the editorial in February 18:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120218/editorial/Please-can-we-have-some-more-.407303
More info about the programme is available on British Council’s website: http://www.britishcouncil.org/malta-arts-and-culture-what-the-dickens.htm
On February 7 Malta participated in British Council's Global Read-a-thon to celebrate Dickens’ 200th birthday across the globe. The British Council staged a 24 hour global read-a-thon with 24 countries reading 24 of Dickens’ texts in 24 hours.
Please see the highlights of these readings: http://vimeo.com/36316658
More info about the event available here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/malta-arts-and-culture-dickens_2012.htm
and here: (please note the photo taken during the reading in Malta): http://literature.britishcouncil.org/news/2012/january/readathon
The media coverage to the read-a-thon is available here:
http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=71&Action=1&NewsId=89117
I hope that Mr Bugeja and Mr Demicoli and Mr Gatt will be able to attend some of these events. I would like to thank you for your interest in Charles Dickens bicentenary celebrations.
Best wishes,
Ingrid Eomois
British Council Malta
Charles DeMicoli
Feb 12th, 12:58
Hi Lino: did you at least try to organize something? By the way, putting down your own country doesn't make you look smart at all. Is there a Dickens Fellowship in Malta? If not why not start one and get ready for a June event. BTW, about your amazement regarding Charles Dickens' celebration in Buenos Aires, Argentina - it was organized by the British Council in Argentina. Is there a British Council in Malta?
Ingrid Eomois
Feb 23rd, 19:30
Dear Mr Demicoli,
Thank you for your comment. Indeed, there is British Council in Malta (www.britishcouncil.org/malta). On our website you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter and stay informed about our programme of activities. You will find a number Dickens-related events you can hopefully attend, most of them free of charge.
Best regards,
Ingrid Eomois
British Council Malta
Mr Tony Gatt
Feb 11th, 12:19
There are, of course, many British people in Buenos Aires-a beautiful city- so it is not surprising that Dickens would be a familiar author.
In Malta, anything in English is regarded as being the work of "Colonialist oppressors" and similar tosh. It will be interesting to see what, if any, references there are in April to celebrate the 70th. anniversary of the granting of the George Cross.
I was there in 1942 and will go back in April.