To celebrate the first birth centenary of poet Karmenu Vassallo, L-Għaqda tal-Malti (Università) organised an evening in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Malta, on March 21 at Europe House, Valletta.

Vassallo’s strong voice struck a chord with the young generation of the 1930s and 1940s, expressing suffering, anger and rebellion intertwined with a profound spirituality and Catholic principles.

Vassallo will be forever remembered not only for his poetry, but also for his translations of some literary works into Maltese, including Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

Marcel Zammit Marmarà gave an extensive presentation about Vassallo’s life, his pains, his psyche and his work, peppering the overview with interesting anecdotes. This was followed by a presentation from Oliver Paul Vassallo, one of the poet’s sons, which led to a discourse by the guest speaker of the evening, Prof. Oliver Friggieri.

The presentations were complemented by the music and song of Dominic Galea and Doreen Galea.