A rainbow of cultures

In his introduction to this collection of poetry, Emmanuel Attard Cassar, President of the EspRimi Association, states that the initial purpose behind this publication was friendship, collaboration and culture; and this, in turn, is highly complemented by Paola-Mara de Maestri’s comments in her introduction to the book.

Founder of the Laboratorio Poetico di E’Valtellina, de Maestri, a well-known and well-established Italian poetess herself, can now be considered a household name locally, thanks to her close artistic links, now for a good number of years, with both Malta and particularly with the Maltese Poets Association ( Għaqda Poeti Maltin) and the EspRimi Association itself.

Together with a host of other cultural activities being held locally, this publication aptly joins forces to celebrate Valletta as The European Capital of Culture 2018, in that it reflects the huge talent both in po- etry and in Art of a vast number of contributors, Maltese and Italian alike, all of them having made a name for themselves in their respective artistic field, all of them joining in their tribute to our capital city.

Owen Bonnici, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Jason Micallef, Chairman of the Valletta Foundation 2018, as well as Signor Lorenzo del Barba, President of the E’Valtellina, have all agreed in principle about this book, its purpose, its message, and particularly its significance in complementing all the other artistic events which have been initially contemplated and set in action to make the event one unique in its own way. All three expressed their satisfaction in approving such a publication, which will certainly put not only Valletta to the fore but Malta itself, in an even closer proximity where art and culture are involved, particularly poetry.

As I have said, here we have a vast number of poets and artists, Maltese and Ital- ian, who have certainly gone out of their way to give and present their best to such a unique cause and in such a momentous occasion. Impossible to mention all the contributors; but reading their works (in Maltese and Italian), and seeing their beautiful and colourful illustrations in this book, one can easily gather that both pen and brush have worked together in unison, in utter harmony, and with an absolute dedication, to attain the goal intended and ultimately achieve full satisfaction to all.

Understandably, at the end of the book one can find two final entries dealing with the EsPrimi Association and the Laboratorio Poetico E’Valtellina, written by Emmanuel Attard Cassar and Paola-Mara De Maestri, Angelisa Fiorini and Luca Villa respectively. This further (and very detailed and helpful) information about both cultural entities is a fitting end to a book that is quite unique in both its aim, purpose and presentation, but most of all for its highly cultural and artistic importance. EspRimi Assocation (Malta)/Laboratorio Poetico di E’Valtellina (Italia): Qawsalla ta’ Kulturi/Arcobaleno di Culture: a bi-lingual collection of poems and paintings, edited by Emmanuel Attard Cassar, 2018; 138 pp