Frans Sammut

Frans Sammut

Frans Sammut holding Vassalli's collection of Maltese proverbs. December 2006.
Born Francis Xavier Sammut
19 November 1945(1945-11-19)
Ħaż-Żebbuġ, Malta
Died 4 May 2011(2011-05-04) (aged 65)
Malta
Occupation Playwright, novelist, short story writer, broadcaster, teacher, cultural consultant to Prime Minister
Notable work(s) Il-Gaġġa
Samuraj
Il-Ħolma Maltija
On The Da Vinci Code
Napoleon à Malte

Frans Sammut (November 19, 1945 – May 4, 2011[1]) was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.[2]

Contents

Life

Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta.[1] He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius' College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta (B.A., S.Th.Dip./Diploma in Sacred Theology, M.Ed.) and Perugia University (Diploma to teach Italian abroad).

Sammut first gained recognition in the early 60s when he was still in mid-teens through his short story L-Istqarrija which won first place in a contest by GHaqda Kittieba Zghazagh and through two other short stories which won second fourth places in the same contest; then in the late 1960s, he co-founded the Moviment Qawmien Letterarju (Literary Revival Movement). Later he served as Secretary of the Akkademja tal-Malti (Maltese Language Academy).

In 2010, he was elected Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society.[3]

Sammut ended his career in education as a Head of School, though from 1996 to 1998 he was Cultural Consultant to the Prime Minister of Malta. He has been married to Catherine Cachia and they have two sons, Mark and Jean-Pierre.

Works

He published numerous works, including the best-selling novels Il-Gaġġa (The Cage), which was the basis of Gaġġa the 1971 film directed by Mario Philip Azzopardi,[4] Samuraj, which won the Rothmans Prize,[1] Paceville, which won the Government's Literary Medal.[1] and Il-Holma Maltija (The Maltese Dream), about which literary critic Norbert Ellul-Vincenti wrote, "there is nothing of its magnitude in Maltese literature."[5] Former Prime Minister and playwright Alfred Sant considered it Sammut's "masterpiece",[6] and British author and poet Marjorie Boulton called it "a colossal work".[7]

Sammut also published collections of short stories: Labirint (Labyrinth), Newbiet (Seasons), and Hrejjef Zminijietna (Tales of Our Times).

His non-fiction works include Ir-Rivoluzzjoni Franciza: il-Grajja u t-Tifsira (The French Revolution: History and Meaning), Bonaparti f'Malta (Bonaparte in Malta), of which a French translation, Bonaparte à Malte, was published in 2008, and On The Da Vinci Code (2006), a bilingual (English and Maltese) commentary on the international bestseller. He also edited Mikiel Anton Vassalli's Lexicon. Vassalli (d. 1829) is considered the Father of the Maltese Language. In 2006, Sammut's translation of Vassalli's Motti, Aforismi e Proverbii Maltesi was published as Ghajdun il-Ghaqal, Kliem il-Gherf u Qwiel Maltin. In 2007, his Il-Holma Maltija in translation (as La Malta Revo) represented Malta in the Esperanto collection of classic literary works published by Mondial Books of New York. In 2008, his Il-Gagga was published for the fifth time. In 2009, Sammut presented a revolutionary reinterpretation of Pietru Caxaro's poem "Xidew il-qada" (also known as "Il Cantilena"), the oldest written document in the Maltese language.[8]

Sammut translated important works for theatre: Racine's Phedre (Fedra) (1978) and Maxim Gorki's The Lower Depths, both represented at the Manoel Theatre, under the direction of poet Mario Azzopardi.[9]

Former University of Malta Rector, Professor of Philosophy and foremost Maltese intellectual Peter Serracino Inglott said:

The genius of Sammut was in his ability as of a Voltairian jester to transform a historical character into a sort of carnivalesque vector of an ironically larger than life mask. The reader is made to enjoy the obverse side of personalities usually regarded with unmitigated solemnity. One smiles like an accomplice in their doubts, slippings and tergiversations. The stylistic shift from historical narrative to fictional is perhaps the biggest challenge to be faced by any kind of translator.[10]

Last Words

Frans Sammut's famous last words were: “My wife and I should be going to Jerusalem, but it seems plans have changed. I am now going to the Heavenly Jerusalem."[11]

Serracino Inglott reacted thus to these words: "I realised then that sometimes tears and laughter are interchangeable."[10]

External links

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c d Attard, Elaine (2011-05-05). "Frans Sammut passes away". The Malta Independent. http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=124627. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
  2. ^ Le Petit Futé, 9th Ed, 2009-2010, Paris, p. 70.
  3. ^ http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/maltastory.htm
  4. ^ Aquilina, Sandra (12 March 2007). "Portrait of the artist", The Malta Independent. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  5. ^ Ellul Vincenti, Norbert (11 May 1994): "Vassalli's Maltese Dream", The Sunday Times (Malta), p. 20.
  6. ^ Sant, Alfred (4 May 2001). "Frans Sammut: A Man of Courage", maltastar.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  7. ^ Maltese works in Esperanto, The Malta Independent, 2 September 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2001.
  8. ^ New interpretation to oldest written document in Maltese, maltamediaonline.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  9. ^ Azzopardi, Mario: "In Memoriam: Frans tal-Gagga u Gerusalemm l-ohra" in In-Nazzjon 14 June 2011.
  10. ^ a b Serracino Inglott, Peter (15 May 2011). "Inheritance of icons", The Sunday Times (Malta). Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  11. ^ Sammut, Mark (15 May 2011). "Frans Sammut", The Sunday Times (Malta). Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  12. ^ http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=65773

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/3.0/88x31.png" /></a>
This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License</a>.