Ġużè Diacono

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Ġużé Diacono (24 November 1912 - 17 November 2002) was one of Malta's most prolific writers during the twentieth century.

He was born in Valletta and educated at St Paul's School and at the Royal University of Malta, graduating as Legal Procurator in 1938. In the same year he joined the Allied Malta Newspapers Ltd.

Where he occupied several editorial posts on The Times of Malta and Il-Berqa. until he resigned in 1966. He went on to found and edit the weekly paper Il-Ħajja and served as part-time leacturer in Maltese literature at the University of Malta.

Diacono's literary contributions include drama, short-story writing, translations and literary criticism as in Wara Ibsen (1972) and Il-Fidwa tal-Bdiewa of Ninu Cremona: Studju Kritiku. His plays include Salib Ħaddieħor, L-Għarusa, Ir-Raġel li Kienet Tħobb (published together in 1960), L-Ewwel Jien! (1963), Erwieħ Marbuta (1965), Uġiegħ (1966), Għaliex? (1966), and a number of other one-act plays.

His most famous dramatic work is, however, the television serial Il-Madonna taċ-Ċoqqa (1979), which was produced by Albert Marshall for TVM in 1980 and also adapted for the stage by Joe Quattromani in the late 1980s. John Suda adapted this television serial again in 2001 and it won the Broadcasting Authority TV Drama Award in 2002.

In the field of language Diacono wrote Għeltijiet u Barbarizmi fil-Malti (1977) and compiled the Diżżjunarju Ingliż-Malti. Vols. 1-5 (1991-1993), which is an adapted and revised expansion of Dun Karm Psaila's dictionary.

In 1993 he collected some of his short stories in one volume entitled Dik is-Siġra Mħattba. Ġużé Diacono was married to Mary Pace in 1950.