In a Nutshell:

Praspar Press’ first anthology of Maltese writing showcases new prose, poetry and literary nonfiction by a selection of emerging and established Maltese writers from across the world.

Split into two sections, Fables/Ħrejjef and Reflections/Riflessi.

Some Observations:

Founded in 2020 by Jen Calleja and Kat Storace, Praspar Press was created in order to support Maltese writing, written in English and translated into English.

The words, scintillas and praspar are Maltese. Scintillas means sparks and praspar loosely translates as capers or misdemanours- a popular genre of children’s books in Maltese literature based around the antics of the title character.’

Themes:

Love, family, identity, longing and desexilio*

*desexilio is a term coined by Mario Benedetti, meaning when you move back to your home country, the feeling of not fitting in as you have been away for too long!

A Quote:

“Instead of the black and darkness of night he saw a kaleidoscope imprinted on the back of his eyelids-circles, lines bright cubes zig-zagging from one side of his brain to the other, the red taste of rubber, the yellow of burnt sugar, the green of carpenter’s glue, the blue painful like brain freeze against his teeth.”

Editors: Jen Calleja and Kat Storace

Jen Calleja is a writer, translator and musician. She is half-Maltese, born and raised in the UK. Find out more about her on her website.

Kat Storace is Maltese. She is a London-based writer and editor. She has worked in magazine and literary publishing in Malta and London. This is an interesting piece by KS and JC, read here.

Author for piece I have picked: Loranne Vella

Loranne Vella is a Maltese writer, translator and performer based in Brussels. Her first novel for adults, Rokit, won the National Book Prize of Malta in 2018. Vella’s collection of short stories, What will it take for me to leave, was published by Praspar Press in 2021.

Publisher: Praspar Press

Publishing Date: 06.11.2021

A bit about me!

A bit about me, my name is Jess Andoh-Thayre. I am from Brixton, South London. I currently live in Cambodia. Before living here in Cambodia, I lived in Tanzania with my husband, who is a diplomat. I have also lived in Chile and Spain. I am a French, Spanish and English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher. I recently qualified as a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). After taking three years off to have a baby in a pandemic and also retrain, I have just returned to work as an Elementary Learning Support Teacher.