Having originally been written in Indonesian, Sumur was first published in September of 2020 in English as The Well, as a part of the Penguin Books’ anthology Tales of Two Planets. Its Indonesian version has now been released in Indonesia, via publisher PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. The novella is … [Read more...]
Indonesian Director Edwin Talks Sex, Violence and Dictatorship in ‘Vengeance Is Mine’
August 7, 2021 by
The latest film from the South-Asian auteur, which premieres at the Locarno Film Festival, is both a tribute to and a subversion of the ultra-violent revenge movies that he grew up on in Indonesia in the 1980s and 1990s. Edwin has a knack for a catchy title. The first short from the Indonesian … [Read more...]
11 Translated Books by Asian Women Writers to Read This #WITMonth
August 6, 2021 by
Happy #WITMonth! To celebrate this special occasion, we've chosen eleven books you won't want to miss by some of our favorite Asian women writers in the WWB archives. From Indonesia, Macau, Vietnam, India, and more, these titles range across genres and themes, delving into questions of migration, … [Read more...]
Indonesian writer confronts COVID-19 through poetry
August 6, 2021 by
As Indonesia becomes the world’s COVID-19 epicentre, writer and activist Putu Oka Sukanta’s poetry reflects how the pandemic has changed human relations and ways to maintain optimism and resilience. As a former political detainee – Sukanta was imprisoned for ten years without trial by Suharto’s … [Read more...]
Rebel With a Cause: How Chairil Anwar’s Disgust for Establishment Takes Indonesian Poetry to Next Level
July 26, 2021 by
Jakarta. "Aku ini binatang jalang" ("Here I am, a wild beast") is the most famous line by arguably Indonesia's most famous poet of all time, Chairil Anwar. The line seems to perfectly embody the rebellious spirit of the poet who, according to many critics, modernized and changed the course of … [Read more...]
