The Play of Waves is a collection of poems written over the period of five years by Malta's most distinguished poet, Immanuel Mifsud. It falls into six sections: the first consists of mainly lyrical poems; the second explores mental instability and the fluidity of the Self; the third is a sequence of travel poems; the fourth focuses on the dialectic of body-spirit; the fifth consists of poems about sex and sexuality; and the sixth and final section is a short cycle about Medusa. Throughout all six sections, the theme of 'waiting' runs as a leitmotiv - waiting at airports, at the psychiatric clinic, at railway stations, sex-workers waiting for clients, lonely people waiting for imaginary lovers.

This is a powerful yet tender collection from a writer whose name may be familiar as winner of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011 but whose unique poetic voice is little-known outside Malta.

About the Author
Immanuel Mifsud was born in Malta in 1967. He writes poetry and prose and also children's literature. In 2002 he won the Malta National Award with his third collection of short stories, and in 2011 he won the European Union Prize for Literature with his poetical novel In the Name of the Father (and of the Son), which has since been translated into English (Midsea Books) and French (Gallimard, forthcoming). In 2005 Southword (Cork) published his poetry collection Confidential Reports, translated by Maurice Riordan, and in 2014 IRIU (Slovenia) published a selection of his poems.


Book Information
ISBN 9781908376671
Author Immanuel Mifsud
Format Paperback
Page Count 104
Imprint Arc Publications
Publisher Arc Publications