There is nothing better than opening up a new category of literature with a new country, language or perspective.  Eka Kurniawan is the first Indonesian writer I've read, and the first writer translated from Malay. Indonesia's prior presence in the western canon is mostly limited to early 20th … [Read more...]

Indonesian authors Iksaka Banu and Kurnia Effendi have just launched a book they co-authored, a nearly 600-page historical novel called Pangeran Dari Timur that was more than 20 years in the making. The double-plot novel that centers on the life of the great painter Raden Saleh (1811-1880) and … [Read more...]

Ten years ago, I read Eka Kurniawan’s “The Otter Amulet” (Jimat Sero), a story about a former bully victim who uses an amulet to protect himself from harm, an outsider trying to fit in. It was written for a horror story anthology, a tribute to Indonesia’s most prolific horror writer Abdullah … [Read more...]

Sex and pornography have been controversial topics in Indonesia for years and are often taboo simply because discussing them will always intersect with traditions, norms, religious beliefs and the law. Hendri Yulius has no such qualms. The young Indonesian writer and lecturer of gender and … [Read more...]