‘Fire Has No Mercy’: Read The ‘Very Rare’ 1873 Poem On The Harrowing Burning Of Teatru Rjal
A very rare, 151-year-old poem detailing the harrowing burning of Valletta’s Teatru Rjal has officially been unveiled to the public… and it’s every bit as detailed as any history buff could ever hope for.
Yesterday, local actor and guide @grech.jeremy took to social media to make the exciting announcement, saying he would be unveiling the poem this morning to commemorate a similarly fateful day for the theatre – its bombing in 1942.
“I am publishing this poem in a digital format for it to be accessible to everyone in the history and theatre world,” Grech said, revealing he had managed to acquire the rare poem together with Maltese historian William Zammit.
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From the panicked feeling in the air as everyone shouted and soldiers scrambled to try and put the blaze out to the distressing description of a “confused and isolated city”, the poem – aptly named the Burning of Teatru Rjal – is a historic gem we’re so grateful has finally seen the light of day.
Faithfully digitally reproduced and translated from old Maltese into modern by Grech himself, the poem will hopefully also get an English translation soon enough. Grech, who ended up forking out some €200 to purchase the poem due to its rarity and condition and many hours trying to understand the old Maltese, is now asking for any “small contribution for the efforts involved”, while maintaining that, at the end of the day, his aim was always “to immortalise this by typing it down for everyone to access and not be lost to time”.
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