Election vibes and oil on canvas

Two books by Adrian Grima, a collection of poems called Vleġġa Kkargata and a collection of four short stories called Din Mhix Logħba, are being published by Klabb Kotba Maltin, with full colour, oil on canvas paintings by Karen Caruana.

The two new books for adolescents will be on sale at the Book Fair at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, which ends on Sunday, November 11 at 20:00.

Although the target audience is older children and young adults, the stories and many of the poems will also appeal to adults who enjoy literature that explores new themes in innovative ways.

The poems in Vleġġa Kkargata range from apparently nonsense works like Pappa l-Parola, Xi Żżommha and Bali Ta' Qali, to more sobre poetry like Morfina La Trid Tistrieħ, about a grandson unable to understand the fatal illness that has separated him from his grandfather, and Cowboys, which explores the issue of guilt.

There are also poems about Adriana, who is determined to become a no-nonsense police woman like her heroes of Cobra 11, a pacifist in a war zone, the energies of poetry, and the death of a well-loved dog.

Six of the poems in this new book by Adrian Grima for adolescents are translations and adaptations of poems by poets from Spain, Italy, France and Iceland.

Ġejja l-Elezzjoni, the first of the four stories in Din Mhix Logħba is a light-hearted take on both school council and national elections, the "real thing". Fabbrika tar-Rikordji is about children who work in a sweat shop but develops into a story about friendship and betrayal, while Filgħodu nqum IKMISSRE is about a boy who refuses to satisfy his father's aspirations for him, but also about stories within stories.

The fourth short story in the collection, Bħall-Kuluri Mxarrbin tal-Ħuta, deals with two young female artists who are fascinated by Frida Kahlo but face what seems to be a weirdly similar fate.

Adrian Grima's poetry and proze has won national and international prizes and has been read in many countries and translated into sixteen languages. For more information, log on to the author's official website.