”History was like an old house at night. With all the lamps lit. And ancestor whispering inside. To understand history, we have to go inside and listen to what they're saying.” (Arundhati Roy - ”The God of Small Things”) The quote from the novel The God of Small Thing by Indian … [Read more...]
‘The Jakarta Salon’: Remembering a home that nurtured Indonesian maestros
July 5, 2025 by
Authored by Hong Kong-based art specialist Rishika Assomull, the 293-page volume was launched at the very place where it all began: the Papadimitrious residence. Today, Indonesian maestros such as Affandi, Ahmad Sadali, Hendra Gunawan and Srihadi Soedarsono are celebrated as forefathers of … [Read more...]
Resisting oppression with speculative fiction: Anselma’s path to Nebula Awards
June 28, 2025 by
June has been a month of blessings for Anselma Widha Prihandita, who won a Nebula Awards on June 7 for her novelette Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being, just days before earning a PhD in language and rhetoric from the University of Washington in the United States. She is the first … [Read more...]
Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the Buru Quartet: ‘At least I’ve told these stories to you’
April 7, 2025 by
What was the best decision Brian Johns ever made? In 2005, Johns – legendary leader of Penguin Books Australia, publisher of Elizabeth Jolley, Thea Astley, Frank Moorhouse, and so many others, and later managing director of the ABC and SBS – nominated his publication of the Buru Quartet, by … [Read more...]
Rancagé awards face recurring challenges in promoting regional literature
March 30, 2025 by
The Rancagé awards are given annually based on the assessment of literary works in book format written in regional mother tongues. Since 1989, the Rancagé Cultural Foundation has consistently organized the Rancagé Literary Awards to honor literary works written in regional languages as a form of … [Read more...]
