The great Mediterranean nation : identity constructs in Maltese post-Independence literature

Abstract

In terms of discourse on collective identity, the transformations in Maltese literature that coincided with Independence continued to reflect the preoccupations of the Romantics with nationhood and national identity and eventually served as a sort of concluding act to the long, essentially nineteenth century, process of collective identity construction through literature. The new generation of the 1960s was spurred both by the postwar petering out of the Romantic movement that had effectively dominated mainstream Maltese literature since its birth in the first half of the nineteenth century, and by the social, cultural and political transformations taking place in Europe, the United States and beyond. These were characterized by the refusal of submissiveness and established models, and the belief in the power of shared revolution that gives the arts their vitality and their radiance. But it was also spurred by the momentous transformation in the people’s psyche being proposed by the boldness of seeking Independence for a micro-island state that focused, more than ever before, on the concept of the nation. [excerpt]