George Zammit (1908-1990) Fr Hermann Duncan
The poet George Zammit was born in Qormi on the 16th of March 1908 to Ġorġ Zammit and Ludkarda nee Muscat. As a child he attended Kindergarten run by the Augustinian sisters and afterwards Government Primary School both in his native village. He went on to follow his secondary education at Flores College in Valletta from where he moved to the Lyceum and later St Aloysius College in Birkirkara.
After completing his matriculation exams he entered the University of Malta. He felt that his calling was to become a priest, and he soon left for Rome to study at the Gregorian University run by the Jesuits.
After a while he no longer felt the call to priesthood, so he abandoned the course and instead continued his studies at the University of Malta to become a lawyer.
On the 31st of July 1935, he married Carmelina Cuschieri the niece of the Carmelite poet Fr Anastasju Cuschieri. They had two daughters, Celine and Mariquita who were most helpful in giving me information about their Father.
George had a very lively character indeed. He always had a smile on his face and loved to joke. He enjoyed helping others and offering his assistance to anyone who asked it of him. He also helped finance a number of institues with money that God provided him with.
He led an active life. Besides his work as a lawyer he taught Italian, English, and Latin at the Lyceum and at St Aloysius College. He was also a lecturer of Maltese at the University of Malta and taught Italian and literature in the seminaries both in Malta and Gozo. He also held a number of conferences in Italian and English at the University of Malta, at the British Institute and in our seminaries. Furthermore during World War II, he spent some time working as a Police Inspector.
Throughout his career he held many important positions of trust such as President of the Christian Workers’ Party, President of the Medical Council and he was also a member of the Council of the Academy of Maltese.
In his spare time he took pleasure in clay and ceramic modelling. He also used to enjoy painting with oils and watercolours and loved making pen sketches of several chapels and churches around Malta and Gozo. He even published a book of his sketches called Intimate Malta. George was once quoted as saying that he felt happiest when he was out in the countryside painting, but his greatest achievement was his poems.
He relished writing poems in Italian, Maltese and English. He was also a writer of romances and novels. In his writings two of the most well-known characters still sought after today, are Wenzu u Rożi.
George Zammit is considered a traditional poet and one of the Maltese romance poets. The strongest elements in his poems are nature where he admired the simplicity and beauty of creation. He also liked to express his faith in his poems. He liked writing about real places and would describe them clearly and in detail so that they could serve as a guide for anyone who wanted to visit these places.
If we take a look at a few of the works he published, we find a collection of English poems called Lyrical Moments as well as Adrifts, Wenzu u Rożi u Ħrejjef Oħra (Wenzu and Rożi and other tales), Mela Darba (Once upon a time), Fuq Ġwienaħ il-Għana (On the Wings of Song) and Ix-Xhud li ma Deherx (The witness who didn’t appear) a romance with a historical background.
George Zammit passed to eternal life on the 21st of July 1990 and was buried in the cemetery of Santa Maria Addolorata in Paola.