Maltese literature dichotomy

Abstract

The tide of Maltese literature is in flood. The next decade or so should show where the flood is going to lead; but already there are signs that the coming years may see the age of literary maturity dawning. The flood is primarily in terms of output. Writers, at least so-called, proliferate. The trend began in the middle sixties, largely under the influence of poet and critic Victor Fenech. Fenech introduced the idea of "shared" publications. By spreading the cost - and so the high risk of financial loss - of publishing, Fenech minimised the real problem of financing one's own books despite the prospect of a high loss margin, given the small local market and the astonishing apathy in this regard of much of the Maltese intelligentia. Victor Fenech's enterprise acted as the spur. The first four-author anthology of poems to which he contributed and edited was followed by other group publications. Caught in the new spirit, individual authors too came forward in much larger numbers than hitherto. [excerpt]