Home for Indonesian Writers
Bogor Literary Week organized an event featuring Indirani that was scheduled for September 20 but cancelled it days after the Front Persaudaraan Islam (Islamic Brotherhood Front, FPI) threatened to disrupt the discussion.
In response to a Human Rights Watch query, an Islamic Brotherhood Front representative neither confirmed nor denied the organization’s role in the cancellation of the event, stating: “In principle, FPI respects every citizen's right to express opinions and carry out activities guaranteed by the constitution. However, this right must also be exercised while respecting religious values, public beliefs, and the constitutional rights of others as regulated in the applicable laws.”
What does it mean to crave home when home is halfway around the world? In his forthcoming book, The Most Gentle People (releasing November 17, 2026), Jakarta-born writer Dakota Sinder retraces the modern Indonesian story—from colonial history and national turning points to a privileged childhood in Jakarta and the quiet discomforts of fitting into life in America.
In this excerpt, Dakota finds himself in New York, working a corporate job and desperately missing home. He heads to a small church bazaar in Queens looking for familiar sights and smells, only to find himself confronting something deeper: the awkwardness of slipping between languages, the legacy of cultural shame, and how heritage follows us even when we try to outrun it.
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