Interview Tatjana Debeljački vs. Patrick Sammut

You are the president of the Maltese Poets Association and the editor of the poetry magazine “Versi”?
In truth I am the vice-president, not the president, of the Maltese Poets Association (www.ghpm.blogspot.com). There were many members of the association who wanted me to become president, but I am not a leader, much better a follower. The MPA was founded in 1975 and it works to strengthen the love for poetry reading and writing here in Malta. Today it is composed of 90 members: some are beginners, some write poetry as a pastime and to remember special occasions, others are more promising, while others are established poets who have been publishing poetry collections for various years. We organize poetry evenings in different parts of the Maltese Islands, publish poetry anthologies on special occasions, organize two Poetry Competitions annually – one for adults in July-August and one for school children in November-December -, have different contacts with poets all over the world and publish the quarterly poetry magazine VERSI, established in 1986. I am currently editor of this magazine in which one can read poems from our members’ pen, poems from poets coming from different parts of the world, information about poetry in the world and about the MPA’s activities during the year. We also publish literary essays on poetry which help students who are sitting for the local Maltese literature secondary and matriculation examinations.

As member and vice-president of the MPA and editor of VERSI I have come to know many poets both from Malta and abroad. This gave me the opportunity to read many poetry collections which my poet friends give me for reviewing and also as a sign of friendship.

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