Therese Pace: Meta Tkellimni Ħi a collection of poems; self-published, 2011, 93 pp. €7.50
Therese Pace is an established poetess and has made a name for herself both locally and abroad. In Malta she deservedly won the National Literary Prize for Poetry (2007) with her beautiful collection of poems, Arpeġġi.
Each word Therese Pace uses is powerful to a degree and, more often than not, highly effective
Pace has a passionate love for poetry and she is invariably there when the muse speaks. But what makes Pace different from other poets is the unique way in which she interprets her feelings in poetry; it is the choice of her words that are incisive both in sound and in the meaning they are meant to purport.
Very often, Pace feels the need to hit out at the world and all its shortcomings. She cringes at the sight of wars, misery, hunger that persistently and relentlessly visit humanity with devastating results.
She is often tormented by haunting experiences which she now seems eager to forget.
And in her poetic eagerness to lash out, Pace resorts to a vocabulary all her own, a vocabulary that very often resorts to the archaic, but which immediately distinguishes her from any other local poet. Each word she uses is powerful and, more often than not, highly effective.
Cynicism often prevails as do sarcasm and attempts at wry humour. The results are veritable studies in the tragedy of human drama.
In his extensive and excellent critical study of the poems, Charles Briffa says: “Pace is a writer not because she has something to say, but because she has discovered a process that makes for new concepts.
“She is very capable of creating voices that would present their points of view. The uncommon technique in the use of her words is an effective one for it instantly creates an impact between the easy and the difficult. Her poetry is never a passive consumption; it is a challenge to the reader and (equally) engaging.”
The poetry of Pace, however, is not concentrated on personal experiences; many of her poems know their genesis to what goes on around her. She is a keen observer of things natural and human beings, fully aware of the blessings and the curses of both, and this is amply shown in Bidu, Osé and Blasé.
At other times she seems to have made other people’s experiences her own, felt them, lived them, and ultimately conjured them up in verses such as the heart-rending Sfidant.
At the beginning of the book, the author has wisely added a list of the archaic words she felt she had to resort to. In this way, the reader will enjoy the conceptual beauty of these poetic studies to the full.
Having gone through the anthology, he will undoubtedly agree with Briffa’s contention that “Pace is a poetess, but she is not a feminist. Her poetry is a persistent exploration of what irks her… and she claims the right to make her voice heard.”