Footprints / Tapak Tilas

Footprints is a unique anthology, as it gathers the work of authors, who are well known as well as newcomers, including one winner of a youth writing competition and a first-time writer. The selections move from the generation of Budi Darma and Mochtar Loebis to the next generation of Zen Hae and Linda Christanty to the current generation – a twelve-year-old writer. Some stories were previously published; others are the output of creative writing workshops held by Dalang in collaboration with renowned Indonesian universities. By pulling all of these diverse stories together, this anthology signals that the world of fiction is eager to record the footprints of all who travel this path – young and old alike. This bilingual publication also serves as an inspiration for translators to participate in introducing Indonesian fiction to the world. The featured translators include the experienced, the apprentices, and the alumni of Dalang workshops held in collaboration with their university. The voluntary and collective work of translating Indonesian stories into English shows an enthusiasm to promote Indonesian literature. The collected stories encompass a wide variety of narrative styles, from the surrealistic, absurd, and mystical to the down-to-earth and sliceof- life writing. The story settings cover the colonial era up to the present. With stories from Aceh to Papua to as far as the New Zealand coast, Footprints reveals a myriad of complex social issues for the intellectual to examine and contemplate. One common theme is the compassion towards the marginalized and the downtrodden. Footprints provides rich sources for coursework, in particular for gender and postcolonial studies. It also provides inspiring material for creative writing and translation studies.