Introduction [Vojta l-bajja/Barren is the bay : poeżiji – poems]

Abstract

Although John P. Portelli lived in Canada for more than forty years where he taught in several universities and published his academic works in English, his literary productions are almost exclusively in Maltese. However, aiming to reach a wider audience, he endears to see his work available in English and further translated in other languages. Portelli prefers not to translate his own work. He collaborates with a wide array of people (professional translators, poets, artists, academics, students of translation, etc.) to translate his poetry and fiction. He could translate his own work or write directly in English. Surely, his grasp of English is no hindrance given all the years he taught in English. So one is bound to ask: What makes Portelli collaborate with others to interpret his work in English when, it is often claimed that poetry is untranslatable, given that inevitably translations deviate from their source texts, and despite the Italian adage 'Translators are traitors'?