You have recently published a book called COVID-19and the Virus that Shook the World. It provides a sobering look at virus
infections and pandemics, with particular emphasis on the COVID-19 strain.
Presently, the cases have diminished in Europe but the spread has moved
elsewhere. However, how safe is ‘safe’ at the moment?
With the way things are evolving with the ’new’
coronavirus, it’s very difficult to answer this question. The WHO just last
weekend warned that the worst may be yet to come. We are certainly witnessing
an atrocious amount of deaths and illness in the US. We don’t yet know with
certainty which factors are affecting the progression of the pandemic. Indeed
we don’t even know about all the symptoms that appear with COVID-19 infection.
The relative ‘safety’ is different for everyone, depending on the state of
their immunity and certain other factors. For a person with average health who
isn’t too old, the danger of getting severely ill may be low – but we need to think
of the big picture. Is this person going to come into contact with elderly
parents, with patients, with people with compromised immunity? Is this person
living in a community where the healthcare system is easily overwhelmed? Do we
know enough about our own health? And, even if the symptoms aren’t too bad upon
infection, do we know about the future consequences? There are so many
questions that will only be answered with time, because we need to know what effects
the virus will have on us, and what effects we can have on it in terms of
preventative or curative medicines. My short answer is: we need to exercise
caution for a long time yet.
You are a pharmacist by profession but many know
you primarily as a poet. Is there poetry in pharmacy?
Once you start looking for it, there’s poetry in
everything – it’s incurable. As a pharmacist I work in community and also in
other areas that require me to use language, where the primary aim is to make
information as clear as possible and to avoid misunderstandings. As you can
imagine this is vital when it comes to patient information. It really makes me
appreciate clarity and how to better get information across where it is needed.
In my poetry I’m also portraying a message, or a number of messages, and I
believe that clarity can enhance connection. This is a muscle I’m flexing in
both areas and I enjoy the intertwining threads that they share.
In your first anthology, Pomegranate Heart,
there are a number of poems that tackle a very intimate kind of memory. What are
the challenges involved in taking a very personal experience and passing on its
ownership to your poetical persona?
I remember the shock of sharing my poetry after
years of keeping it to myself. I wanted to take it all back for a moment – it
was akin to hanging up dirty laundry but with an ISBN number. But then it
became clear to me that everybody reads poetry through their own lens, their
own experiences making my truths murky. I try to play with words to evoke a
universality so that the experience is not just mine. I’m expressing my need to
write and to tell my story, but I’d also like to evoke a moment of ‘You felt
that? Me too.’
In Inside Skin you collaborated with
photographer Zvezdan Reljić. What came first, the poem or the pic? Or was it a
more symbiotic relationship?
Sometimes you meet a person or an artist who
really feels/gets your work. I like to think of Zvezdan as one of these
persons. We did not have endless discussions or what goes where, which poem
goes with which picture. I think, but I can only speak for myself of course,
that we trusted the process of intuition, of casually weaving the poems
and images together until they seemed to fit and find each other.
You are very active in the local scene, not just
as a writer but also as a literary facilitator. In fact, you run regular creative
writing workshops, and before that, you organised a number of literary salons.
Can you tell us something about the importance and/or need for writers to
collaborate and share their works-in-progress?
We need to be honest with ourselves – words are
designed to be shared. Yes, we may write for ourselves in a cathartic way or
keep a journal. However in essence I believe that growth can only occur upon
sharing. As writers most of us crave some sort of audience. We don’t know what
is ‘good’ or ‘right’ without other people’s opinions. We understand our own
writing better when we start to share it, and that is how we can grow, observe
our flaws, get more from our practice. I have had the pleasure of facilitating
creative writing workshops for 4 years now and I can say that most writers just
need the tiniest of pushes to grow. It must be done with care and
understanding, but also with a certain ‘strictness’ about the writing practice
and that its nature is grounded in work and dedication and not in some sort of
other-worldy gift. As regards collaboration – I’m like a kid going to a candy
shop. Finding someone to collaborate with, and being in harmony with their
work, elevates your work. With the written word, and especially with poetry,
this broadens your reach in terms of imagination and audience.
You write in both Maltese and in English, but
primarily you go for the latter. Do you find that you have two voices, one in
Maltese and one in English? And if so, are they conflicting voices, complementary
ones or entirely separate of each other?
Even though I get asked this question a lot, it
hasn’t become easier to answer. As a bilingual writer I don’t feel conflicted,
I feel richer in my choices than if I wrote in one language. The closest I can
get to explaining how I choose whether to write a piece in English or Maltese
is the ‘place’ where the poem comes from. This means it depends on the time and
place, if this is a memory I am writing about. I am also rather influenced by
what I would be reading at the moment, and if I’ve watched, heard, or listened
to someone else’s art represented in either language. I tend to write in
English more often because my world contains more English than Maltese, and
also because I know it will reach a wider audience. Having said that, I always
read a poem in Maltese when I’m reading abroad.
Do you have any hobbies you’d like to share with
us?
I enjoy cooking when I have enough time to do it.
The pandemic has created mixed emotions on this. I’ve had to cook much more
than usual, and because I tried to limit my shopping trips or deliveries, I
didn’t have the liberty I usually have. My happiest day is receiving
vegetables, and since I’ve made a decision to eat less meat I’ve had to
challenge myself to be more adventurous with my recipes. It’s a creative outlet
that I mostly enjoy. And of course I love to eat!
What book, film or song would you recommend to us?
(Yours don’t count!) Why did you choose this?
I’m going to cheat because I think it’s an
important thing to say right now and I believe you’ll forgive me. I think we
all should be reading, watching, and listening to books, films, and songs that
will help us to understand other cultures and other people. I think we should
be actively doing this in order to connect at a time where connection is easy
but oh so difficult.
To finish off: What’s the nicest thing that anyone
has ever said to you?
That being around me inspires them.
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If you would like to buy Miriam's books you can do so from here:
NONFICTION
COVID-19 and the Virus that Shook the World (Oppian Press)
POETRY
Pomegranate Heart (EDE)
Remember (EDE)
You can also read some of her published poems HERE.
For updates about Miriam's work and her workshops, follow her over HERE.
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