The names of the basic colours in Maltese make one aware that the language bears Semitic roots. Colours like aswad, ahmar, akhdar, azraq, and, of course, abyad, are a constant reminder of where Maltese language springs from.
It was not unnatural, then, that Leanne Ellul’s poetry collection Bjuda was translated into Arabic. It is the author’s second poetry collection, which was first published in 2022 by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ.
It has now been published by Sefsafa Publishing House, with support from the National Book Council’s Malta Book Fund, and was launched at the 2026 Cairo International Book Fair.
Bjuda was originally an interdisciplinary and synaesthetic project pairing Ellul’s poems with photography by Giola Cassar, whose work also features on the cover of the Arabic translation. The original project also featured music and a walk-through experience.
The playful and dynamic ‘book’ − including postcards, posters, booklets − housing the Maltese poems together with their English translations by Albert Gatt, was originally designed by Zvezdan Reljić. The Arabic version keeps the spirit of the original publication but is presented in a traditional book format.
“Words take on a life of their own, and in translation, poems are born anew”
The collection centres on the colour white as a lens through which to explore a range of human experiences and emotions, weaving together the different stages of human life − from childhood through to death.
The Arabic translation was carried out by Abdelrehim Youssef, who also worked closely with the poet herself.
This is not Ellul’s first foray into the Arabic-speaking world. Her first novel for young adults, Gramma (Merlin, 2015), winner of the Konkors ta’ Letteratura għaż-Żgħażagħ, was published by Manshurat al-Rabie Publications at the 2019 Cairo International Book Fair. Gramma was translated by Emad Ahmad with support from the National Book Council, with a bridge translation into English by Albert Gatt.
“To have a work that is translated to another language is both a privilege and an honour. Words take on a life of their own, and in translation, poems are born anew,” Ellul says.
A selection of poems from Bjuda has also been published in Croatian (Booksa, 2023), translated by Vlatka Valentić.
