When Education Minister Evarist Bartolo unveiled a bust of my father Michael Spiteri, popularly known as Kilin, outside Rabat primary school on May 26, a beau­tiful dream of mine came true.

The bust of Michael Spiteri (Kilin).The bust of Michael Spiteri (Kilin).

It all started two years and three months ago when I posted a private message on the minis­ter’s Facebook page, expressing a wish for a bust dedicated to my father to be erected. He imme­diately put me in touch with Maurice Gruppetta, who started me on the road of the project.

I subsequently contacted Joe Borg, secretary of L-Akkademja tal-Malti, which agreed to apply for the proposed bust to be supported as a cultural project under the Good Causes Fund. It subsequently awarded €2,000 for the project. The Education Department kindly agreed to offer another €2,000 sponsorship.

Trevor Zahra, a great friend of my father, came forward and personally offered €500 for the bust. My aunt Maria, Kilin’s sister from England, also donated money for the cause. There were two other sponsors. The remaining money was contributed by myself, my brother and sisters.

The bust at a preliminary stage, showing the characters walking off the pages of the book Kilin is holding in his hands.The bust at a preliminary stage, showing the characters walking off the pages of the book Kilin is holding in his hands.

Created by sculptor Joe Scerri from Rabat, the bust is very artistic and creative. It shows Kilin holding a book on which several small figurines appear to walk off the pages; they represent characters from some of his books: Kilin as a young boy dressed like a fratell, Kilin wearing his sunhat, sitting down with his inseparable radio Wenzu, Count Roger Band playing...

I have been asked why the bust was placed in Rabat, rather than Msida, where he lived for most of his life after he got married. My father was born in Rabat and loved the town, so I wanted it to be located in the place he held so much at heart, and remain there forever, never to be forgotten.

Kilin was born in Rabat, on August 20, 1917. He studied at Rabat Primary School and later at the Lyceum. He worked as a Customs officer from 1934 to 1941 and later at other govern­ment departments until he retired in 1975.

He was devoted to his wife Josephine and worked hard to raise a family of seven children: Victor, the eldest, and six daughters – Maria, Dora, Anna, Cecilia, and twins, myself and Agatha. He had 17 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Kilin’s favourite book was Tinsiex Publius, Tinsiex, a novel based on St Paul’s three-month stay in Malta. His English translation, The Island was called Melite, was launched on the same day of the unveiling

Sadly, when my mother passed away four years before him he was depressed, sad and lost without her. His first niece – Josette Bajada – passed away last September.

Kilin was a simple man who loved his family, the Maltese language, and always worked hard to preserve our island’s culture. He was also very religious and a man of sound morals, always defending all that makes us Maltese.

He was also fluent in English, Italian, French and Spanish. Spanish was his favourite foreign language. He taught it and was also a very good interpreter.

He loved playing chess, adored classical music, and photography was also one of his hobbies.

He loved nature and was one of the first to raise awareness regarding the need to safeguard the environement through his writings, as can clearly be seen in two of his books comprising a collection of small essays: Tlikki Tlikki ma’ Wenzu (1972) and later Hawn Aħna Wenz (1991).

Besides being a writer my father also loved painting with water­colours. He loved to paint nature scenery and chapels. In fact, his first books featured some of his own sketches of small churches and chapels. These included Kappelli u Knejjes Zgħar (1967), Nistqarr (1968); Djar is-Sultana (1969). Later, in 1990, he published A Maltese Mosaic and Wayside Chapels of Malta and Gozo (1990-2000); both books are full of his own sketches of small chapels.

Fr Martin Micallef, director of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, blessing the bust during the inauguration ceremony, with the author looking on.Fr Martin Micallef, director of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, blessing the bust during the inauguration ceremony, with the author looking on.

Bl-Irġulija u bl-Onesta, a novel he wrote in 1973, won the Rothmans Prize for Literature. He wrote and pubished three other novels: L-Għafrid (1975), Tmint Ijiem fid-Dragonara (1984) and Tapit Imsaħħar (1995).

My favourite book of his is Għajnejn Kalanġ (2001), which features short stories. He later translated it into English and published it as Angelo’s Eyes (2003).

His most popular book is Fuq l-Għajn ta’ San Bastjan (1973) in which Kilin describes episodes of his childhood days through his eyes as a young boy living in Rabat. This was later followed by two sequels: Wara l-Għajn ta’ San Bastjan (1994) and Iż-Żmien isajjar il-Bajtar (1996). These three books may be considered as Kilin’s autobiography till his early married life.

Burdati and Burdati 71 are books of Kilin’s prose and poems. L-Istejjer ta’ Joe u Marija is an anthology of his writings for young children originally publish­ed in the magazine Sagħtar.

Kilin’s favourite book was Tinsiex Publius, Tinsiex, a novel based on St Paul’s three-month stay in Malta. His last work was an English translation of the book. In fact, he made a great effort to complete the translation but due to his deteriorating health, his daughter Cecilia Testa had to finish the last two chapters after his death.

The book, called The Island was called Melite, was recently pub­lished by Midsea Books. It features a foreword by Trevor Zahra. The Good Causes Funds kindly agreed to offer a €1,000 sponsorship for the book. The rest was funded by my family and an anonymous sponsor.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Id-Dar tal-Providenza, Siġġiewi. It was launched on the same day of the unveiling of the bust, which was blessed by Fr Martin Micallef, director of the home.

Rosalie Caruana is a daughter of Michael Spiteri (Kilin).

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.