CHILDREN’S LITERATURE SHIFTING ANGLES

Mario Azzopardi has adapted a series of legends from all over the planet.

CHRIS GRUPPETTA discusses the vibrancy of the new project, which imbues the takes with a highly theatrical timbre.

Controversial and slick. These are among the words that come to mind when mentioning Mario Azzopardi’s writings, usually for adults. His name is not necessarily synonymous with children’s literature. However Azzopardi has been an active player in the children’s writing scene, on and off, for the last three decades at least. Way back in the seventies, then children’s books in Maltese in full colour were virtually unheard of, Azzopardi was involved in a pioneer project with Merlin Library and Ladybird Books. His were the very first Maltese adaptations of Ladybird books, including such titles as Il-Gzira tat-Tezor (Treasure Island) and Is-Sigra tal-Ful (The Beanstalk). For many years these remained virtually the only colour children’s books on the local market, and became the cornerstone of an extensive backlist of Merlin-Ladybird coedition publications. Even today, when all but two titles in the original series are out of print, these Azzopardi adaptations have become a cult item among children’s books connoisseurs.

More recently in the nineties, Azzopardi once again undertook an adaptation project, bringing to Maltese a Ladybird book on ecology. This was another first as it marked the very first non-fiction Ladybird title to be published in Maltese. L-Ekologija remains in print to this day.

The next few months will see another welcome return by Azzopardi to the field of children’s literature in Maltese. Merlin Library will in fact be publishing a book of legends from all over the world, adapted in Maltese by Mario Azzopardi. These have of course been simplified to appeal to their target audience of 8-11 years olds. The legends run the gamut from such classics as tales from Homer’s The Odyssey and the myth of Narcissus, through Nordic and European tales, and all the way to Chinese and African folklore. Also thrown in are a number of “crowd-pleasers” such as Andersen’s Iz-Zraben Homor (The Red Shoes) and the French classic Kwazimodo l-Hotbi (Quasimodo the Hunchback).

These legends will make for fascinating reading not only for the kids - who will love the approachable and lively style – but also for adults who will enjoy these “pocket tales” from all over the world. It is wonderful to read of legends from cultures totally different to our own. And appreciate how some tales are rooted in a common origin. The delicious Hullula u Bullula is a Turkish take on our very own Gahan, whit their despairingly dim-witted antics.

The tales very accurately reflect the preoccupations of the country and culture where they originated. Thus, the African mythology’s Il-Mara Li Ma Kellhiex Ulied (The Childless Woman) is grounded in the African traditional concept of the woman as child-bearer. Likewise, the implicit melancholy of It-Tfajla tal-Wied (The Young Woman in the Valley) an adaptation of a Swedish ballad from the Middle Ages, is very Nordic in its conception of loneliness and quiet suffering.

Once of the joys of reading these legends is in identifying the origins of various story elements found in most modern fiction. Many of the themes so recurrent in today’s tales, from magic to alternate worlds to ogres and monsters, have their origin in tales and myths of old. It is thus appropriate that Azzopardi’s selection runs the gamut of styles adopted in traditional tales, no easy task in Maltese. Some tales are almost fairytale-ish in mood, others are dark and others yet mildly disturbing. A few also reprise one of the traditional functions of legends, which is to rationalize to the populace the mysteries and concepts of nature. This is seen perhaps most clearly in Il-Baghal l-Iswed (The Black Mule), an adaptation of a Chinese legend where the Emperor of the Heavens condemns il-baghal to a lifetime of heavy workloads working the fields assisting man.

Azzopardi’s theatre background comes to the fore in the writing of these adaptations. Today’s child readers are, to a certain extent regrettably, much more jaded and street-smart than their counterparts of half a century ago. Plain vanilla retellings of classical tales can very easily lose out in appeal when competing with a Hogwarths boy wizard’s antics. Azzopardi works his way out of this brilliantly by imbuing the tales with a highly theatrical ambience. The style of retelling is totally visual and one can almost feel the cameras shifting angels. A number of the tales in this collection end with an ellipsis of sorts. The denouement of the legend is told in an undertone – as it were – and the reader’s imagination is left to complete the mosaic.

To complete the effect, the legends are illustrated by a talented young promise in today’s new frontiers of digital illustrations. Nicole Diacono has put together, following a series of discussions with Azzopardi on the underlying themes and moods, a series of exquisite visuals that complement the vibrancy of the tales themselves.