RenaBalzan

Balzan was born in 1946, in Siġġiewi. She started off studies at the University of Malta obtaining her B.Pharm. Watson’s The Double Helix (1968) sparked her interest in genetics and so started her journey in this field at the State University of Milan, where she specialised in Applied Genetics. She then read for her PhD in Biotechnology/Molecular Biology at Cranfield University, U.K.

Her first publication, Ilwien Moħbija (1973) was a collection of poetry and short stories. Balzan then went on to write four novels and co-authored two more poetry publications – Turġien (1983) and Alfa (2000). Balzan’s poetry has been translated into English, French, Italian and German. Her poetry feels fresh and spontaneous, left as a pulse of inspiration.

Three works particularly important to Balzan are: Il-Ħolma Mibjugħa (The Betrayed Dream, 1982), Ilkoll ta’ Nisel Wieħed (Bonds in the Mirror of Time, 1987) and Fiż-Żifna tal-Ibliet (In Tune with Citylife, 1995). In many works one finds an exploration of one’s merging environments – the physical, psychological and political. Il-Ħolma Mibjugħa is a story about love thwarted by ambition and power. There are forces weighing the importance of love and time, and those questioning whether love is able to withstand the test of time. Ilkoll ta’ Nisel Wieħed is a psychological journey of a young girl, who was raised by her grandparents. It is essentially a long letter to her grandfather sharing her sense of discovery and self-understanding. The bond they share overcomes the perceived “barrier” that is death, challenging the reader to do the same. This book was translated into English by Antoinette Pace, as Bonds in the Mirror of Time (2014). In Fiż-Żifna tal-Ibliet Balzan asks what forces and contexts mould us, change us, influence our decisions, and to what extent our background truly does affect us. She relates the story of a young woman maturing into adulthood, revealing instances in which readers recognise how differently one may react and respond to various circumstances and contexts.

There is this keen sense to learn, explore and develop in Balzan’s writing; an intrinsic understanding that one is always a student of and in life. The evolving role of women in society – at home and at work – is of great interest and is one of the main themes alongside the notions of time, nature and humanity. This is how her novels explore our ever-changing world, the consequences of feminism and the question of how to deal with and adapt to new realities.

In this sense the reader may feel Balzan’s scientific background creep in-between the lines and leak onto the page. Both her passions require and ask for creativity, perseverance, patience and also perhaps a sense of gumption – which is what we make of Balzan through her writing – a woman in search of a natural balance while being exposed and living within two worlds.

Rena Balzan is the recipient of the 2021 National Book Prize Lifetime Achievement Award.