The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo, said Desmond Morris, a zoologist. This statement viewed cities with an emphasis on its people rather than its structures. However, which focus does it want to emphasise? The myriad variety of its people? Or the confines of city life, like a zoo, … [Read more...]
2014: Not a Good Year for Indonesian Short Story Scene
June 5, 2017 by
For a selection of short story, this book is quite inconsistent; there must be quite a number of editors involved in selecting these short stories. The best short story (voted by editors) is a story by Faisal Oddang called Di Tubuh Tarra, dalam Rahim Pohon (In Tarra’s Body, In the Womb of the … [Read more...]
Drought by Iwan Simatupang
May 26, 2017 by
For more than 100 years, the Indonesian government’s solution to overpopulation was the magic cure-all transmigrasi, first instituted by the Dutch in 1905. Transmigration involves relocating people from densely populated “inner islands” such as Java, Bali and Lombok to more sparsely populated … [Read more...]
Negeri Kabut
May 25, 2017 by
Seno Gumira Ajidarma is one of the big names in Indonesia’s literary world, many of his works have gained critical acclaim. Negeri Kabut, first published in 1996, is one of them, having been awarded the 1997 Indonesian Literary Prize for the best short-story collection. To “celebrate the passion for … [Read more...]
Examining Indonesia’s collective trauma
May 24, 2017 by
Years after the 1965 tragedy, which started with the kidnapping and murder of several military generals, the issues remain sensitive. The now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was blamed for the killings. Revenge by the military caused the deaths of between 500,000 and 1 million alleged … [Read more...]
