Malta – “Mi manca il mare”, a special evening of poetry and music at the IIC

The Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) in La Valletta will delight its public by offering a combination of the two most refined, albeit popular and widespread, arts ever: poetry and music. “Mi manca il mare” (“I Miss the Sea”) is the title of the event scheduled for Friday, 17 March (6:30 p.m.) at the IIC’s auditorium. Corrado Calabrò, poet and writer, will read his poetry in Italian (with an English translation available in the evening’s programme). Jesmond Sharples, the president of Għaqda Poeti Maltin, will instead read some of Calabrò’s poems translated into Maltese. The evening will include a concert by the Duo Astor, consisting of Mº Fabio Maida (guitar) and Mº Angelo Palmeri (oboe) who will perform a repertory of music by T. Albinoni, A. Piazzolla, F. Tarrega, V. Bellini, J. Rodrigo, R. Dyens, C. Machado, E. Morricone, M. Ravel. A note posted by the IIC reads: “We will have the pleasure and honour to hear directly through the voice of Mr Calabrò some of his most successful poetic compositions, translated into the Maltese language for the first time and declaimed by the president of the Association of Maltese Poets. It is impossible to sum up the author’s impressive poetic biography in only a few lines. Born on the seafront of Reggio Calabria, his first volume of poetry was written when he was between 18 and 20 and was published in 1960 by the Guanda publishing house in Parma with the title ‘Prima attesa’. It was later followed by another eighteen volumes, including ‘Mi manca il mare’ (Genesi Editrice, 2013). Many translations have been made of his work into different languages, from the most common to the rarest. Calabrò’s poetry has also been put on compact disk, read by some of the most widely appreciated actors and also performed on stage, in recitals and performances, in several cities in Italy and abroad. He has received several literary prizes and awards for his literary activity, including numerous honorary degrees from prestigious Universities.”