Leading Australian expert on Indonesia Max Lane recounts late Indonesian literary giant Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s role in inspiring the downfall of former president Soeharto’s New Order regime through his Buru Quartet tetralogy One man come in the name of love One man come and go One man come he to … [Read more...]
Tiffany Tsao: “Indonesian literature is less well known”
February 10, 2023 by
The author of The Majesties talks about the Chinese community in Indonesia, and about translating Indonesian authors like Budi Darma and Norman Erikson Pasaribu Writing or translating – what feels more rewarding? With writing, you get to share your own words. With translating, you get to share … [Read more...]
Here are (Five of) the Books that Made My Heart Sing in 2022
February 9, 2023 by
“In a strange way, what I read coincided with what I was. I read about the raging sea as the sea raged, I read about the whispering forest as the forest whispered, and when I read that to pray was not to speak, but to become silent, that only in silence could God’s kingdom be sought, God’s kingdom … [Read more...]
When We Became the People from Bloomington
February 9, 2023 by
In late March 2020, I sent a WhatsApp message to the Indonesian author Budi Darma asking him to be careful about the new virus spreading around the globe. I worried that if he contracted it, the consequences might be dire. By all reports, the elderly were especially susceptible, and he was about to … [Read more...]
How an Australian freed an unfinished nation’s history
February 8, 2023 by
The fascinating story of how Indonesia came to better know itself through a time of repressive regimes. Australia’s relationships with Indonesia are usually measured through stories of terror and disaster, aid and trade, rarely anything that’s cerebral. That’s been corrected by writer Max Lane … [Read more...]
