ElizabethGrech

1.

Biography

Maltese poet Elizabeth Grech now calls France her home, one that has forged her identity and attitude not only as a poet, but also as a woman and mother. The Parisian whiff and a love of French culture is easily identifiable in her work. Above all, there is an overt declaration of love for languages, be it Maltese, French, or Italian.

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Consequently, this has led to an eight-year stint working in translation, which in turn has endowed her with insights into the intricacies of language. It has also served as a launchpad to experiment with the flexibility and crispness inherent in the different languages. For Grech, style is fluid and dynamic, as it sways her towards the use of language in unexpected ways.

Through the medium of poetry, she creates pieces that follow the heart’s direction, resisting overthinking. Her intuitions are not forced but rather allow her to capture and define a moment in time. Though it might be ephemeral, that moment belongs to the voice of Elizabeth Grech, but soon transcends the physical space; as time presses on, the poetry transcends the poet, the voice morphs into another persona.

Grech resembles a technician who provides a mould through which the person behind the poem transmutes. She believes that over time, she is not the same person as the one who penned the poems. Despite this personal dissociation between Grech and her work, the poems as text or as events are not fully dislocated from their socio-political contexts. Whereas Grech does not intentionally present her poetry as a form of activism, she affirms that the act of creating can be inherently militant.

Notwithstanding the activist outlook, the subjects that pervade her poetry retain a very personal imprint. Her first poetry collection bejn baħar u baħar (between one sea and another, Merlin Publishers, 2019) epitomises the culmination of two central elements in her works: natural elements and important human connections, not least the loss of her father. One specific figurative element of nature that features in Grech’s work is the moon, which is symbolically connected to fertility and maternity, both of which find a resonance in her work that revolves around conversations with her children – at once tinged with the innocence and simplicity present in the children’s language, but also with a profundity rooted in the limitless imagination of children.

With a full spectrum of appearances, interviews, and projects in poetry and translation, Grech’s works span 20 years of experience, and represent a spiritual journey into herself and her identity as a woman, daughter, mother, wife, and friend. Like the cyclical moon and the ever-changing sea, her works come full circle in poignant ways, following the spontaneous rhythm of life and its many dynamic motions.

Biography written by Stephanie Xerri Agius

2.

Bibliography

Bejn baħar u baħar

Between a sea and another
Poetry
Maltese
Author
Publisher
Merlin Publishers, Malta
Related titles

"Je suis femme"

in "L’Ephémère – 88 plaisirs fugaces"
Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth GrechPhilippe Parizot
Editor
Thierry RenardBruno Doucey
Publisher
Éditions Bruno Doucey, France

Bejn baħar u baħar

Between a sea and another
Poetry
Spanish
Author
Translator
Marisol Bohorquez Godoy
Publisher
ÆREA Revista Hispanoamericana de Poesía, Spain

Μετέωρες χώρες

Meteores Xores
Poetry
Greek
Author
Translator
Ioanna Karamali
Publisher
Vakxikon, Greece

Terre Sospese

Poetry
Italian
Author
Translator
Virginia MonteforteMassimo Barilla
Publisher
Capire Edizioni, Italy

"Islands" & "Sea"

Poetry
English
Author
Translator
Albert GattKenneth Scicluna
Publisher
Odyssey.pm

"La femme endormie"

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Philippe ParizotElizabeth Grech
Publisher
Babelmed.net

"Ta langue"

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth GrechPhilippe Parizot
Publisher
Terres de femmes, Angèle Paoli

"Stilel", "Étoiles", "Stelle"

Poetry
Maltese
Italian
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth GrechCostanza Ferrini
Publisher
Zizzanie, Mincione Edizioni, Italy

"New Stories"

Poetry
English
Author
Publisher
Poetry Bay, USA

Kidane

Picture book
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Illustrator
Marisa Attard
Publisher
Klabb Kotba Maltin & National Book Council, Malta

Luggage/Bagage

Poetry
English
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Word and Deed Publishing, Canada

Ta voix m'habille

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Klabb Kotba Maltin & National Book Council, Malta

"Jour 9"

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Poésie et Cinéma, Bacchanales n°56, Maison de la poésie Rhône Alpes, Saint Martin d'Hères, France

"Le Patrimoine du père"

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Voix Vives de Méditerranée en Méditerranée (anthology), France

Ici arrivent les mouettes

Here come the seagulls
Poetry
Maltese
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Fondation de Malte, Malta

Passeport

Poetry
French
Author
Translator
Elizabeth Grech
Publisher
Les éditions Faï fioc, France
Supported by

Arts Council Malta

Creative Industries Platform

Project co-ordinator: Clare Azzopardi

With the help of: Kirsty Azzopardi, Leanne Ellul and Albert Gatt

Proofreader: Dwayne Ellul

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