Main reading - Nadia Mifsud

During this special program, the work of Maltese Poet Laureate Nadia Mifsud takes center stage. Language plays a key role in her poetry—not just as a bridge between worlds, but also as something through which one can become lost or rediscovered. Her poems, which explore the nuances of multilingualism and migration, will come to life at the festival.

The texts she will recite have been collectively translated into Dutch especially for Poetry International, under the guidance of translators Anna Eble and Ton Naaijkens. Mifsud invites the audience into her world of language and memory, where silence and distance often speak as powerfully as words. The program will be hosted by Tsead Bruinja, who will engage in conversation with the poet about her work and her perspective on poetry.

Nadia Mifsud 

Nadia Mifsud is a Maltese poet, author, translator, and teacher based in France.  In 2022, she was also named Malta’s third Poet Laureate.

She has published three books of poetry and one chapbook. Her second publication, Kantuniera ’l bogħod (2015), examines feminist themes such as woman- and motherhood, as well as living abroad as a Maltese. She was awarded the National Book Prize: Poetry in 2016, and again in 2022 for Varjazzjonijiet tas-Skiet (2021). She has published a novel, Ir-rota daret dawra (kważi) sħiħa (2017) ,and a collection of short stories, Żifna f’xifer irdum (2021). 

She is a member of the cultural NGO Inizjamed, and was an organiser of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival. Mifsud has translated Immanuel Mifsud’s novel Fl-Isem tal-Missier (u tal-Iben) (French: Je t’ai vu pleur). Her own work has been translated into English, Croatian, Polish, German, and Malayalam.