When the loss of her mother to cancer turned Fabrizia Catania’s life upside down at just 18, she was reluctant to reach out for help, wary of pity and sti
The literary and journalistic communities are joining forces for the first time in Maltese history to set up a voluntary organisation that seeks to safeguard freedom of expression, among other pursuits.
Writers and journalists are in the process of setting up a PEN Centre in Malta, an offshoot of PEN International – a worldwide association promoting friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers, which fights for freedom of expression and represents the conscience of world literature.
“It’s a first for Malta to have such a diverse group of professionals with unique strengths sitting at the same table, collaborating and advocating for this cause in a structured environment,” said writer Maria Mangion, who officially kicked off the procedure to establish PEN Malta.
MARIA
Maria lives in Gozo, sister island to “mainland” Malta, and commutes to Valletta for her job in digital communications for the EU. Apart from commercial writing and social media management, she is a writer of poetry and dabbles in fine art, digital art and performance.
Maria has founded a community arts platform and residency programme for artists hailing from Glasgow and elsewhere, with a focus on exploring concepts and notions bearing a relation to the “Glasgow effect”. The project is expected to launch in 2021. Follow Maria on LinkedIn for updates.
MY SECRET CITY: VALLETTA
Malta’s capital is a tiny metropolis of splendid Baroque artefacts, a fortress city influenced by the crossfires of civilisations past. We asked alumna Maria Mangion (MLitt 2015) to give us her insider’s guide to Europe’s sunniest city.