Raudal Tanjung Banua

Raudal Tanjung Banua was born on January 19, 1975 in Lansano, West Sumatra and has been residing in Yogyakarta since 1997.

After starting out as a newspaper correspondent, he then studied theater at Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta while concurrently managing the Rumahlebah Community (a platform for the regeneration of Indonesia’s literature cadres) and the AKAR Indonesia Institute; the latter is known for publishing Jurnal Cerpen Indonesia (Indonesian Short Story Journal) as well as literary and humanities books. Raudal’s debut book is a collection of short stories titled Pulau Cinta di Peta Buta (A Love Island on A Blank Map; Jendela, 2003). This was followed by another collection of short stories titled Parang Tak Berulu (A Machete without a Handle; Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2005) and a collection of poems titled Gugusan Mata Ibu (A Cluster of Mother’s Eyes; Bentang Pustaka, 2005)—both nominated for the 2005 Khatulistiwa Literary Awards. In 2013, Raudal published his second book of poetry, Api Bawah Tanah (Underground Fire; AKAR Indonesia, 2013). His most recent publications include a series of “little stories” titled Kota-Kota Kecil yang Diangan dan Kujumpai (Little Towns Imagined and Encountered; AKAR Indonesia, 2018) and Cerita-Cerita Kecil yang Sedih dan Menakjubkan (Little Stories Both Sad and Fantastical; AKAR Indonesia, 2020).

Raudal Tanjung Banua is currently working on two forthcoming series that delve into “intimate and seductive little themes” and “small and forgotten characters,” one of which features the Indonesian version of “Ben Anderson’s Final Message to a Street Musician in Jogja.”¹

1. Asymptote Journal ↩