Indonesian history will be forever marked by the countless deaths following the overthrow of President Sukarno in 1965. The number of deaths is now estimated to be between two and three million. Those killed were not only those members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) falsely accused of … [Read more...]

The Tulip Tree apartment building in Bloomington, Indiana, sits on the edge of the Indiana University campus, 11 stories high with over 200 units. I recently drove past the structure, which curves inward around a wide expanse of grass. I had just been tent-camping in the nearby forest beside Lake … [Read more...]

There are three books I am adding to my book lists from Asia today. You can see the full lists on my website on the Picture Book List page. Syria – Nour’s Secret Library, by Wafa’ Tarnowska, illustrated by Vali Mintzi, and published by Barefoot Books, is based on true events that took place … [Read more...]

People from Bloomington is, true to its name, a collection of stories about various people in the American Midwest—in the university town of Bloomington, Indiana to be precise—set in the late 1970s. As examples of the craft of short story writing, these will do nicely: each is well-constructed and … [Read more...]

Norman Erikson Pasaribu is an Indonesian poet whose debut collection Sergius Mencari Bacchus won the 2015 Jakarta Arts Council Poetry Competition. It was translated as Sergius Seeks Bacchus by Tiffany Tsao. Pasaribu’s recent collection of short stories, Cerita-Cerita Bahagia Hampir Seluruhnya, has … [Read more...]