When Inside Indonesia was launched in November 1983, the events of 1965/66 were still fresh in the Indonesian nation’s collective memory. The official interpretation of those events – that the Army had foiled an attempted coup by the Indonesian communist party (PKI) and its supporters, incarcerating … [Read more...]

UNESCO closed its 42nd General Assembly in Paris, Wed (22/11) with the announcement that the birthdays of two Indonesian heroic figures, Keumalahayati and AA Navis, to be celebrated internationally, per Detikcom, Sat (2/12). The decision took into account UNESCO’s purpose and philosophy in the … [Read more...]

Was this year’s Ubud Writers and Readers Festival worthwhile? My word – the people of the book had a literary communion. Almost two hundred speakers (gleaned from a list four times longer) handled challenging ideas mainly with aplomb. Not all was fiction – human rights were prominent … [Read more...]

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) recorded over 15,000 festival attendees for its 20th-anniversary festival program, held from 18–22 October 2023 in Ubud, Indonesia. Festival director Janet DeNeefe said, ‘We are extremely grateful that, twenty years after the inception of the Ubud … [Read more...]

South-East Asia’s most significant literary event, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, is a chance to not only nurture local writers but also to reflect on global issues. It’s a day after landing in Bali. I’m slightly jet lagged, still reeling from the sensual shock of South-East Asia – the … [Read more...]