I am not sure Charles Briffa’s letter (March 21) clarified any point I made about needless translation of English into Maltese when we boast so much about our bilingual fluency.

The fact that Francis Ebejer wished for translation of his work is irrelevant.

I can say that the translation of his Requiem for a Malta fascist, in the form the Campus FM serialisation is now being broadcast, was probably not what Ebejer had in mind.

A very long time ago, at the Lantern Bar, in Valletta, I asked him why he chose to write in English. He answered by quoting Evelyn Waugh who once spoke of the English language as “a powerful intoxicant where you could get drunk on words”. He was obviously very comfortable with writing in English, as I remember.

From that conversation, he gave me no hints that he wished his work would be translated. If he did, and it was a long time ago, I can only assume that his enthusiasm for English writing may have reflected his then probable desire for any translations to be available for archival and education services.

I have no wish to contradict Briffa but insist that a better tribute to Ebejer would have been to broadcast Requiem in its original English.

I have read the English version and I am now following the radio broadcast. Despite Briffa’s good work, the English language far outstrips the Maltese language for its range of expression and the beauty of its nuances and metaphors.