Coming up
30 de diciembre
Poetas Di(n)versos
Centro Ágora, A Coruña
con Fran Alonso y Yolanda Castaño
Past readings and performances
It-28 ta’ Settembru 2013
Qari ta’ Mappa tal-Mediterran
b’mużika ta’ Effie Azzopardi u Samwel Grima
mistednin mill-Għaqda tal-Malti
fl-okkażjoni tal-Jum Ewropew tal-Ilsna
22 settembre 2013
Parlate di luce
Carosino (TA), Italia
Lettura del Passaporto con Marco Inguscio
29 June 2013
Manifestival: Faites de la musique, pas des centres fermés!
solidarity concert in front of the Findel migrant detention centre, Luxembourg
reading of the poem No one is illegal
organised by Personne n’est illégal – Luxembourg
26 April 2013
“Migration and borders” international conference
University of Luxembourg (Walferdange campus)
with musical accompaniment by Giovanni Cognoli (bass guitar) & Andrew Sammut (electric piano)
9-12 April 2013
Passeport, spectacle musical de Compagnie D’Autres Cordes
à partir de l’adaptation française d’Elizabeth Grech
tour des lycées, Languedoc-Roussillon (France)
organisée par le Théâtre de Sète
3 April 2013
Reading of Passport at Centre Opderschmelz, Dudelange, Luxembourg
Kreattifabrik – 2013 European Forum of History and Arts
in tandem with Francis Kirps
1 March 2013
Café Littéraire
Casino de Luxembourg – Forum d’Art Contemporain
Luxembourg Ville
18-26 February 2013
Festival de poesía de Granada, Nicaragua
15 February 2013
PASAPORTE a la poesía
con Jhavier Romero
Universidad de Panamá
Ciudad de Panamá
14 February 2013
Inħobbok – Recital del día del amor y la amistad
con Magdalena Camargo Lemieszek y Jhavier Romero
La Casona, Casco Antiguo
Ciudad de Panamá
14 December 2012
Kreuzberg Museum, Berlin
12 September 2012
IndignaCtion
Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
26-29 July 2012
San Francisco International Poetry Festival
Interview with Jack Hirschman about the SF festival
28 June 2012
Mediterranean Sea
Poetry and music to accompany an exhibition by Luigi Camarilla
of humanist altars made from the wood of migrant boats
abandoned on the southern coast of Sicily
JMO Conference Centre, Kirchberg, Luxembourg
15 June 2012
Performance of Passaport in Maltese, Luxembourgish, English & German
in tandem with Francis Kirps
Château de Schengen, Luxembourg
A cultural event for participants of the
International Conference on Migration and Democracy
organised by
Centre de Documentation des Migrations Humaines, Dudelange, Luxembourg
& Institute for Regional and Migration Research, Trier, Germany
May 2012
Poet in residence at CAMAC, Marnay-sur-Seine, France
(Fondation Ténot & Malta Arts Fund)
Ateliers Ouverts / Open Studio 24.5.12 – reading with Haitian poet Jean Durosier Desrivières
2 May 2012
Your ‘Passaport’ please!
St James Cavalier, Valletta, Malta
Public meeting with The Writers Club
with a performance by Éire Stuart
and a critical review & interview by Kit Azzopardi
with Migrants Solidarity Movement & Migrants Network for Equality
March 2012
Bouteilles d’outre-mer
Librairie Orphie, Paris
avec Javier Romero, Jean Durosier Desrivières & Jean Portante
29 February 2012
Ritmi Mqallba: L-effetti psikosomatiċi tal-poeżija
Sessjoni ta’ kitba kreattiva, l-Università ta’ Malta (DegreePlus)
Ikklikkja hawn biex tniżżel in-noti u l-eżempji
25 February 2012
Multiversi nel mare tra le terre
Fondazione Orestiadi di Gibellina
Palermo, Sicily
8 February 2012
Guest poet at Lesebühne, Rocas, Luxembourg
hosted by Francis Kirps, Christian Happ & Claudine Muno
11 January 2012
Lectura del poema Madrid, Madrid
durante la Jam Session de los miércoles,
Bukowski Club, Madrid
30 December 2011
Launch of Bejn / Between
with music by Brikkuni & Plato’s Dream Machine
theatrical adaptation by Éire Stuart & Jacob Piccinino
and readings by Adrian Grima, Albert Gatt, Clare Azzopardi,
Claudia Gauci, Francesca Cassar, Keith Borg,
Kevin Saliba, Kit Azzopardi & Noel Tanti
Maħżen XII, Mdina, Malta
1 December 2011
Lecture d’extraits du Passeport
avec Jean Portante (en français) et Muriel Funck (lëtzebuergesch)
Nuit magique des langues
Institut National des Langues, Luxembourg
November 2011
Lecture-débat autour du poème Passeport
Festival migrant’scène
Amiens
October 2011
performance of The Long Rope
with musician Alex Vella Gera
as supporting act to Acid Mothers Temple
Exit07, Luxembourg
August 2011
Struga Poetry Evenings
followed by readings in
Kočani (municipal library and main square)
& Suli-An, Skopje
(Macedonia)
July 2011
Presentation of Passaport
Literature Lunch
European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels
January 2011
Interview at ICE-2011, University of Malta
following Stewsoft Theatre’s recital of Passaport
December 2010
Festival de Poésie de Saint-Martin-d’Hères, Grenoble
October 2010
Presentation of Passaport in Maltese
and German (translated and performed by Francis Kirps),
Frankfurter Buchmesse
September 2010
Literary tour of India – series of readings and workshops in
New Delhi (Sahitya Akademi),
Kolkata (Jadavpur and Rabindra Bharati universities),
and Bangalore (1 Shanti Road, Sahitya Akademi, Bangalore University,
Deepa Academy for the Visually Impaired)
August 2010
Presentation of Passport at Hong Kong Reader, Kowloon, Hong Kong
with Desmond Sham and the Asian Students Association
Presentation of Passport at THROUGH Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
with Carys Jones, Zebekiah Bortner, Brian Aylward, Tim McManus,
Mathieu Stewart and local NGO PSCORE Korea
Presentation of Pasaporte at A Coruña Book Fair
with Yolanda Castaño and local NGO Ecodesarrollo Gaia
July 2010
Presentation of Spanish version of Pasaporte
(trad. Carmen Herrera & Antoine Cassar),
Diablos Azules, Madrid
with Chema Rubio, Valerio Cruciani, Najim Mouhsin, Leo Zelada
Voix de la Méditerranée, Lodève
Cabaré de letras dispersas, Diablos Azules, Madrid
June 2010
Marché de la poésie, Paris
International Translation Workshop (Dane)
& Poetry Festival (Ljubljana), Slovenia
Presentation of Spanish version of Merħba, un poema de hospitalidad
(adapted by Carmen Herrera & Antoine Cassar),
Cruz Roja, Madrid
March 2010
Launch of Passport
in French (trad. Elizabeth Grech, performed by Lambert Schlechter),
English (trad. Albert Gatt & Antoine Cassar),
and Luxembourgish (trad. Francis Kirps),
Festival des Migrations, Luxembourg
in association with CLAE (Comité de liaison des associations d’étrangers)
January 2010
Launch of Italian version of Passaporto,
Caffè Fandango, Roma
with Biagio Lieti and local NGO Giovani Senza Frontiere
December 2009
Launch of Maltese poem Passaport
with Clare Azzopardi, Norbert Bugeja, Walid Nabhan,
Whatstheirnames Theatre, Tibet Society Malta, Robert Farrugia Flores,
and local NGO Migrants Solidarity Movement
Maħżen XII, Mdina, Malta
Magie d’un jour, European Commission, Luxembourg
Merħba and Polyfonías – Dar l-Ewropa, Valletta, Malta
Joint multilingual poetry performance with Polyfonías (Danish poet Peter Wessel, accompanied by musicians Mark Solborg & Salvador Vidal) at the EU Representation Office during the Valletta Notte Bianca, to mark the European Day of Languages.
I read the Maltese poem Il-poeżija, followed by the original Maltese version of Merħba, a poem of hospitality.
d:qliq, Luxembourg
Reading of an English adaptation of the Maltese poem Bejn (Between) at Poetry Slam organised by READYdot.
2 July 2009
European Blend – Poesiefestival Berlin, Akademie der Künste
“The globetrotters of lyrical verse give their stop-off points a fixed place in poetry and bring ever more languages into a single text, thereby giving them equal status. Whether it is a fictitious journey through time or a trip out and about in the world, we will experience a new poetic Babel in a multitude of sound made up of languages and music.”
With poets Øyvind Rimbereid (accompanied by musician Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen) and Peter Wessel (accompanied by musicians Mark Solborg and Salvador Vidal). This was the second time I read with these two poets, after our meeting at the Copenhagen Poetry Festival in May 2009 (see below).
I read an English adaptation of Merħba, a poem of hospitality, followed by the mosaics Ciao amore ciao, Hüzün and Gonbidapena.
3-4 de junio 2009
Onzè festival de poesia de la mediterrània, Mallorca
Participación en una serie de eventos, incluyendo un recital en el Bar Flexas (Palma), una entrevista y grabación de poesía en la Fundació ACA de Búger, y la Gran Nit de la Poesia en el Teatre Principal de Palma, dirigida por Biel Mesquida.
Con los poetas Yolanda Castaño, Giuseppe Conte, Gonzalo Escarpa, Feliu Formosa, András Gerevich, Abel Montagut, Brane Mozetič, Bernat Nadal, Teresa Pascual, Martí Sales, Lawrence Schimel, Pia Tafdrup y Antònia Vicens.
Leí una parte del poema maltés Mappamundi (bar Flexas), el mosaico Ciao amore ciao (Fundació ACA de Búger) y el poema maltés Madrid Madrid (Teatre Principal).
d:qliq, Luxembourg
Reading of an early English adaptation of Merħba, a poem of hospitality at Poetry Slam organised by READYdot.
14-16 May 2009
Københavns 4. Internationale Poesifestival
Participation in a number of events as part of the Poetry Festival organised by the Copenhagen Literaturhaus, including:
– Reading from a horse-drawn carriage around the main squares of Copenhagen. (Click here to listen to a recording on den2radio.dk).
– The Word Goes Around: a stimulating experiment where four authors sit around a coffee table and discuss poetry for an hour, surrounded by an ‘invisible’ audience. After a shy start, a thrilling debate ensued on poetry and peace, the poet’s role in bringing people together, Walter Benjamin’s amphora and the necessary impossibility of translation. Together with Susanne Jorn, Kamelia Spassova and Danish poetry slam champion Lasse Thorning.
– Transsproglige Digte: In 2004, three European poets, unbeknownst to one another, embarked upon three seemingly similar yet essentially different individual projects of multilingual verse. Five years and a number of awards later, these same poets –Peter Wessel, Øyvind Rimbereid, and myself– were invited to participate together in a reading dedicated exclusively to ‘translingual poetry’, as part of the Copenhagen Poesifestival (and two months later at the Poesiefestival Berlin). Although the practice of writing poetry in a blend of tongues is by no means a novelty, the fresh contagious interest in translingual verse among cultural organisers and literary critics is indeed a most welcome development. By presenting our polyglot projects in a common context, the audience was invited to appreciate our work more for what it is (a literary expression of ‘betweenness’) and less for what it is not (as often occurs in generally monolingual readings, where the multilingual verse tends to stand out for its mysterious, exotic qualities). More importantly, the joint readings provided a dynamic framework in which to compare and contrast diverging forms of polyglot verse, each with its particular rhythms, modes and moods of manifestation, and varying attitudes to language and the use and abuse of translation.
– Kærlighedsdigte/Skilsmissedigte: A reading dedicated to love poetry. Together with Ayurzana Gun-Aajav (President of PEN Mongolia), Kamelia Spassova, Lasse Thorning and Peter Wessel.
– Poesifilm: Short poetry films. I showed the films Ċomb and L-Ajkla. Together with Kamelia Spassova and Lasse Thorning.
Click here to see a video report of the Copenhagen Poesifestival on the website of the Danish Arts Council, kunst.dk.
26 April 2009
Erfgoeddag – Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Bruxelles
Performance of Merħba, a poem of hospitality, together with Loranne Vella and Miriam Galea, as part of the celebrations of Erfgoeddag (Cultural Heritage Day), organised by EUNIC.
Merħba, a poem of hospitality is part of a new poetic exploration combining Maltese with a wider variety of tongues, as a means to continue stretching beyond personal expression and to welcome and reconcile a plurality of close and distant voices. The poem is at once a celebration and a lamentation of our colourful, shrinking world and of our common yet conflicting humanity.
16 March 2009
Literaturwerkstatt Berlin – Europäische Momente
Interview and presentation of the Mużajk book, moderated by literary critic Jörg Plath.
Also present were the authors Georges Hausemer (Luxembourg), Dan Lungu (Romania) and Noémi Kiss (Hungary).
13 March 2009
Leipziger Buchmesse
Presentation of the Mużajk book at the stand for Kleine Sprachen – große Literaturen. With “Estonia’s most evil poet” Elo Viiding, and moderator Irja Grönholm.
The same evening, Elo Viiding and myself read at the Theaterhaus Schille in the centre of Leipzig, in the company of Irish writer Alan Titley and Czech novelist Martin Šmaus.
d:qliq, Luxembourg
Reading of three mosaics at Poetry Slam organised by READYdot.
Click here to watch a video report by local entertainment programme Eveant, with English subtitles.
Bukowski Club, Madrid
Primera lectura de los mosaicos en España, como parte de la Jam session de poesía de los miércoles. Traducciones en castellano leídas por Ramón Nausía.
12 dicembre 2008
La poesia mischia lingua, Fondo Verri, Lecce
Una serata di poesia e musica, insieme al cantautore salentino Dario Muci.
A cura di Mauro Marino.
Presentazione dei mosaici, con la partecipazione di Piero Rapanà e Margherita Macrì.
Clicca qui per vedere un video della prima parte della lettura (© Orodè Deoro).
11 dicembre 2008
U(ma)NIversi, Castello Normanno Svevo, Sannicandro di Bari
Una serata di poesia e musica volta a esplorare i profondi universi che accomunano questi arcaici, atavici, eroici umani versi. Progetti di residenza dei RADIODERVISH. A cura di Enzo Mansueto.
Presentazione dei mosaici, con la partecipazione di Nabil Salameh, Valentina de Carlo, Marthia Carrozzo e Margherita Macrì.
17 October 2008
Jiġu mas-Sebħ – An evening of Maltese literature in honour of Albert and Jane Marshall, Foyer Européen, Luxembourg
With the participation of Immanuel Mifsud, Norbert Bugeja, Pierre J. Mejlak, Alex Vella Gera, Claudia Gauci, Kevin Saliba, ex-Etnika pianist Joe Debono and others.
The program of the evening can be downloaded here.
16 Octobre 2008
Le Sud de l’âme – Poésie de la Méditerranée, Galerie Simoncini, Luxembourg
Une exploration à travers la parole de l’expérience de plusieurs écrivains de la Méditerranée qui, pour une raison ou pour une autre, se sont trouvés dans des pays situés plus au nord.
Six poètes d’origine méditerranéenne sondent dans leur œuvre la condition, pas nécessairement positive ou negative, de se trouver à cheval entre les mémoires d’un sud maritime et une existence qui avec le temps semblerait devenir «de moins en moins méridionale».
Avec le soutien de la Fondation René Seydoux et l’organisation culturelle maltaise Inizjamed.
La brochure de la soirée, avec des renseignements biographiques et un poème de chaque auteur, peut être téléchargée ici.J’ai lu les mosaïques Ciao amore ciao, Hüzün et Gonbidapena.
28 May 2008
XIII Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée – Puglia, Italy
Selected by Inizjamed as one of the artists to represent Malta at the BJCEM, I gave an intimate introduction and reading of the mosaics before an international audience at the Fiera del Levante, Bari.
I performed C’est la vie, Ciao amore ciao, A Dunánál and Roam.
This was followed by a recital of fellow Maltese poet Norbert Bugeja, and a Maltese/multilingual poetic duet between Norbert and myself entitled Kairos, in relation to the chosen theme of the Biennale.
A video of the performance can be seen on Youtube here.
Links:
Presentation of four mosaics projected on screen during the performance with parallel English translation
Interview on Controradio together with Biagio Lieti, 30 May 2008
Podcast interview of myself and Norbert Bugeja for Bitonto TV
The flyer for Run, Rhythm, Run, as the joint poetry performance was advertised
Article on the Biennale by leading Maltese author Immanuel Mifsud, in English and Maltese
With heartfelt thanks to BJCEM, Inizjamed, and the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts.
11 April 2008
Djaspora – An evening of Maltese literature, Foyer Européen, Luxembourg
With the participation of Pierre J. Mejlak, Miriam Galea, Alex Vella Gera, Albert Marshall, Kevin Saliba, Joseph Spiteri, Simon Bartolo and others.
A bilingual booklet of the prose and poems read can be downloaded here.
I performed the mosaics C’est la vie, Tak, jako pták and A Dunánál, as well as (a revised version of) the Maltese poem Jum ir-Riflessjoni.
29-30 September 2007
Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, Couvre Porte, Birgu, Malta
A major literary event held in the context of the Literature Across Frontiers project, partly as the outcome of the International Translation Workshop (see below).
With the participation of Valerio Cruciani (Italy), Samira Negrouche (Algeria), Biel Mesquida (Catalonia), Fatena al-Ghorra (Gaza, Palestine), İpek Seyalıoğlu (Turkey), Robert Minhinnick (Wales) and Maltese writers Clare Azzopardi, Antoine Cassar, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, Immanuel Mifsud and Walid Nabhan.
Music from the Zizza Ensemble, film and artwork by Pierre Portelli.
I recited mosaics Azul and Jaro ve Stratově, together with Maltese poems U niġi nfittxek and Lejl romantiku.
Also read were my translations into Maltese of poetry by Biel Mesquida, Valerio Cruciani and İpek Seyalıoğlu.
Click here to read a detailed report of the festival written by Valerio Cruciani for the Italian webzine Amnesia Vivace, including a number of the poems performed.
……….
This festival followed a one-week residential translation workshop, organised by Inizjamed as part of the LAF project, part-financed by the Culture 2000 programme of the European Commission.
Click here to watch a news item on the workshop by Television Malta (© PBS).
İpek Seyalıoğlu’s Turkish translation of the mosaic Azul can be read here.
27 August 2007
Reach for the Sky – Café Deux Baronnes, Valletta, Malta
An evening of poetry and music, held by PoeżijaPlus in collaboration with the Malta Astronomical Society.
Charles Mifsud read the mosaic Samota.
First seventeen mosaics appear in self-published Maltese anthology Ħbula Stirati, together with the poetry of Mario Vella, Alex Vella Gera, Kevin Saliba and Ċali Grima.
Photos of the book launch at the Tal-Milorda gardens in Floriana can be seen here.
At the launch, Maria Grech Ganado gave a warm rendition of the mosaic C’est la vie, and I performed Azul, as well as my Maltese poem U niġi nfittxek.
Rimbaud et l’Europe – Conference and poetry reading organised by Les Amis de Rimbaud, Cercle Munster, Luxembourg
Translations of Rimbaud’s poetry read in over twenty languages, including Maltese rendering of poem Roman (“On n’a pas sérieux quand on a dix-sept ans”) by Alex Vella Gera, downloadable here.
I also read the mosaic Bateau Ivre.
20-21 April 2007
Dream 2007 – A multilingual workshop presentation based on themes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Centre culturel, Sandweiler, Luxembourg
A workshop of acting, music, dance and poetry in several languages, as part of the celebrations of Luxembourg European Capital of Culture 2007.
I performed the poem Ciao amore ciao.
sittalive – The first evening of Maltese poetry in Luxembourg, Foyer Européen, Luxembourg
With the participation of Norbert Bugeja, Kevin Saliba, Stephen Gatt, Alex Vella Gera and Albert Marshall.
A booklet of the poems read can be downloaded here (together with the English translations).
Click here to watch videos of some of the readings.
14 October 2006
Turġien (Steps) – An evening of literature and music, Manuel Theatre Courtyard, Valletta, Malta
Part of the international writing project Sealines, run by Literature Across Frontiers in collaboration with Inizjamed and supported by the Culture 2000 programme of the EU.
Maltese poet Maria Grech Ganado read the mosaic In città.
4 August 2006
Peace vigil in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Israel, Għar id-Dud, Sliema, Malta
An evening of poetry, folk music, and fair trade on the Sliema seafront in favour of peace, with the participation of Vince Fabri, Adrian Grima, Roderick Mallia and Walid Nabhan, among others.
A video of myself reading two haikus, the mosaic Nhar ta’ Tnejn and a Maltese translation of Franco Battiato’s song Povera Patria can be seen here.
3 August 2006
Public reading by Moira Egan and Maltese poets, Café Deux Baronnes, Valletta, Malta
With the participation of Clare Azzopardi, Maria Grech Ganado, Adrian Grima, Simone Inguanez and Roderick Mallia.
C’est la vie, and in particular Ciao amore ciao, were very well received by the audience.
1 August 2006
Literary gathering with Canadian-based Maltese poet John P. Portelli, Ċentru Dawradurella, Kalkara, Malta
An informal get-together of Maltese writers reading and discussing one another’s work, bridging the borders between Canada and Malta. I read the poem C’est la vie.
25 July 2006
Poeżija Gardjola – Maltese and US Poets at Ġnien il-Gardjola, Senglea, Malta
Open-air public reading organised by Inizjamed in collaboration with the Senglea Local Council, with the participation of poet and songwriter M. L. Liebler, together with other US and Maltese poets, including Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Anca Vlasopolos, Immanuel Mifsud, Victor Fenech, Maria Grech Ganado, Leslie Vassallo, Adrian Grima, Simone Inguanez, Roderick Mallia, and Malta-based Palestinian poet Walid Nabhan.
This was my first public reading of the mosaics. C’est la vie, Tant xwejjaħ tant żagħżugħ and Samota were very well received.
antoine cassar 
