SOME of Sapardi Djoko Damono’s poetry is much like an endless lake which waters if scooped will gel in the hand and transform into whatever they wish it to mean. But the way to delve into his body of work is to sail on those self-same waters. Sapardi’s words represent a life which on the surface … [Read more...]
Books Roundup: Shirl, Blueberries, The Wandering
March 14, 2020 by
Shirl Wayne Marshall (Affirm Press, available now) Shirl is our First Book Club pick for March—stay tuned to the KYD website and Podcast throughout the month! Shirl is a wild ride through Australiana. A mermaid appears on a fishing trip; lonely men receive mail-order brides from recently … [Read more...]
Rendang by Will Harris — poems that brim with soul and playfulness
March 9, 2020 by
Moving portraits of everyday grace in an impressive debut collection. One of the standout scenes in Rendang rises from a second-hand memory in the daydream of a bored poet in a dressing room. A couple see a woman on the street dancing, hood over head, can of Diet Coke in hand: “The wind blew/and … [Read more...]
‘I can walk… because I have legs’ Putu Oka Sukanta’s novel ‘Spaces’
February 29, 2020 by
“I can walk, not because someone made a path for me, but because I have legs.”I consider this the defining statement in Spaces, the English-language version of Putu Oka Sukanta’s 2018 Celah. The author himself describes his book as “a work that weaves together elements of fact and the workings of … [Read more...]
UWRF to ponder consequences of human actions
February 25, 2020 by
More than 100 authors, activists, and journalists from 30 countries will gather at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) in Bali from Oct. 23 to 27 to share their stories and ideas on karma. Karma — the theme of this year’s UWRF — is derived from the Balinese Hindus’ spiritual principle of … [Read more...]