“Will Badrul Mustafa Never Die? Verse from the Front” comprises a series of poetry that incorporates various traditions into modern literary work. Badrul Mustafa is considered an anti-hero who claims to be loved by everyone in society. He strives to convince one and all of his remarkable … [Read more...]
Cultural (Un)translatability in Kurniawan’s Man Tiger
September 23, 2020 by
Translating literary works from one language to another is never easy—especially when the two languages have huge different paradigms. Incommensurate modes of thinking and understanding under different paradigms would make it impossible to translate certain terms or phrases, that finally … [Read more...]
World Kid Lit Review: The Adventures of Na Willa
August 23, 2020 by
“D’you know what, Mummy? That book is actually far more interesting than I thought it was going to be.” Praise for Na Willa from a nine-year-old boy. Na Willa is a slender volume from Indonesia, written by Reda Gaudiamo and translated by Ikhda Ayuning Maharsi Degoul and Kate Wakeling, with … [Read more...]
Teh dan Pengkhianat
August 23, 2020 by
Never or rarely do we have histories written by the opposite side of a war or, to be precise, by the enemies. There might be some, but they do not see the entire event from the opposite point of view. Historians tend to write them from their own. But that’s not what Iksaka Banu dares to do. He … [Read more...]
Perjamuan Khong Guan
August 23, 2020 by
Earlier this year, Joko Pinurbo, Indonesia’s much beloved poet, had just released his latest poem collection, Perjamuan Khong Guan. It is divided into four parts (or, cans, in this case), and some numbers may not sound new anymore after their previous appearances in newspapers last year. However, … [Read more...]