Media Clippings
A compilation of every mention of Indonesian writers, written on English/foreign-language media. See also What Media Say.
How publishers deal with politically persecuted authors
Oct 13, 2015 / Deutsche Welle by Holger HeimannIn countries like China, Egypt or Iran, publishing a book can be a crime. As the Frankfurt Book Fair opens, here are publishers that give silenced authors a voice. One even helped its author defect. ...
Come October, Celebrating Literature’s Best and Brightest in Ubud
Sep 10, 2015 / Jakarta Globe by Nico NovitoThe Ubud Writers and Readers Festival is slated to make a grand comeback for its 12th edition in late October, after successfully attracting some 26,000 literature enthusiasts to Bali last year. Spanning five days, from ...
In Indonesia, Writing Needs to Be Recognized as a Profession
Aug 28, 2015 / Publishing Perspectives by Agus M. IrkhamIn Indonesia, the government fails to recognize writing as a profession and publishing as a creative industry, thwarting its further development. In little more than a month, a number of writers and literary activists will leave from Indonesia to travel to the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF). This year, we are the Guest of Honor. As Goenawan Mohammed (GM), the the Chairman of the Indonesian Guest of Honor Committee, noted, the majority of people chosen to attend the world’s largest book fair are the authors who have published books. “The authors follow the books,” he added.
Indonesia on the Global Literary Stage
Aug 27, 2015 / Margins by Jyothi Natarajan Margaret ScottHow did you first become interested in Indonesia? What drew you to the country’s language and literature and eventually to the founding of the Lontar Foundation? When I was a student of theater and fine arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1970s, I was introduced to Javanese shadow puppets and began to design and produce shadow puppets of my own. Mine were not well-known figures in the Javanese puppet pantheon, but characters more commonly known to a Western audience. I learned to create wayang facsimiles, but I had no idea how to manipulate them. To do that, I decided, I would have to study in Indonesia. And so, in 1973, I began to immerse myself in all things Indonesian through courses on Indonesian language, literature, history, and geography. In two years’ time I crammed the equivalent of four years of language study and finally felt ready to go to Indonesia.
“Indonesian literature has a lot to offer to the world”
Aug 11, 2015 / BookBrunch by Jasmin KirkbrideAttention is being drawn to Indonesia’s literary offerings as it is set to be the Guest of Honour at Frankfurt Book Fair 2015. To boost interest in rights and test the waters for Frankfurt, a ...
Myth and History: Writing from Indonesia
Aug 01, 2015 / Words Without Borders by John H. McGlynnIn October of this year, Indonesia will make its appearance as the guest of honor (GOH) at the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF)—the first country from Southeast Asia to be so honored. Because Frankfurt is the largest annual book publishing event in the world, it is, possibly, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Indonesia to present to the world its books and authors. Nonetheless, in today’s world, however, where the primary international language of communication is English and, in Europe, where German serves as a bridging language for numerous other languages, the question remains: How can Indonesia adequately present its literature without a sufficient number of translations into English, German, and other major foreign languages? The answer to that is difficult at best.
Lontar’s Modern Library of Indonesian Literature
Jul 18, 2015 / Indonesia Institute Blog by Ron WittonThose with an interest in Indonesia have typically learnt about Indonesia’s history, society, traditions and politics by reading newspapers, books and journal articles written by commentators, travellers, academics and journalists. However, we know that an ...
A many-headed machine
Jul 17, 2015 / Inside Indonesia by Hendrik MaierOnce upon a time notions and appreciations of Indonesian literature were based on a simple idea: every literary form of writing newly published could be categorised as the work of Angkatan 45 (Generation of 45), a term that referred to the writers who were coming of age in the years of the revolution and were given the floor in cultural life over their Dutch-trained predecessors in their glorification of the newly created nation. The term Angkatan 45 came in handy for political as well as for cultural reasons. The Republic of Indonesia had declared independence in 1945, followed by four years of struggles and violence and, as is the case in every other new nation, intellectuals and the political elite in the capital felt the need to have a literature that dealt with the formation of the nation.
New aromas
Jul 17, 2015 / Inside Indonesia by Meghan DownesIn the early days of the reformasi period, Indonesia saw a boom in literature by young female authors, tackling topics that had been deemed taboo under the New Order regime. Labelled by supporters and critics alike as sastra wangi (literally ‘fragrant literature’), these narratives often contained highly explicit sex scenes and candid representations of female sexuality and desire. The ‘fragrant literature’ was widely hailed as a step towards women’s emancipation from stereotypical gender roles on the one hand, and accused of flooding the market with vulgar, sensationalist content on the other. Over a decade on, some of these novels are achieving huge success on the big screen. The work of Dewi Lestari, for example, has resulted in five popular film adaptations released between 2012 and 2014. With more in production, it seems that ‘fragrant film’ is the flavour of the moment in Indonesia. Yet in contrast to the critical furore surrounding ‘fragrant literature’ in the early 2000s, there has been barely a ripple of debate about the film versions, or the continued activities of other young female authors in the literary scene.