It can be hard to read without projecting a use function onto a piece of writing—perhaps inevitable, since most literature is subject to market forces. Even the self-declared aesthete wants something: an encounter with the sublime, or an escape from utilitarianism. I’m drawn to Bruno Latour’s notion … [Read more...]

People from Oetimu came my way via a review from Stu at Winston’s Dad. Felix Nesi (b. 1988) is an author from Indonesian West Timor, and the novel is set there, on the western part of the island that had been colonised by the Dutch until Indonesia gained independence.  We in Australia are more … [Read more...]

In the early 20th century Dutch East Indies, colonial authorities set about instructing residents of Java and Sumatra on hygiene and nutrition. “Literate women often noted that the ‘new scientific knowledge’ broadcast by the Dutch administration echoed indigenous practices, such as the advantages … [Read more...]