He hated morning, he wished the night could stay longer and the sun never rose again. At night he could hide under the blanket, pulled it all the way to cover his head, folded his legs in, clasped his hands, and just let the quiet darkness swallow him, and the bonus was: If he was really quiet … [Read more...]
Writings
Buried Stories
My hometown is like a wellspring of tales. Not happy ending stories like being celebrated by famous writers in your city, but a pile of unpublished frequent tragic stories, even though I’ve devoted my entire life to write them. Will you teach me to write? I was really provoked to write, even if … [Read more...]
Call Me By Your Name, Which Is Irresponsible and Not Meteoric
We both know it’s easier between two beautiful people We both know it’s easier when it’s a nice mountain mansion in Italy with a shallow pool and a live-in adult-nanny And we both know it’s easier since it’s summer with ripe-pink peaches and nobody interfering without knocking “He looks like he … [Read more...]
Censorship is returning to Indonesia in the name of the 1965 purges
Even by the standards of post-totalitarian nations’ lingering paranoia the last month in Indonesia has seen a disheartening return to Suharto-era tropes of repression and neurosis. A week ago I received a message from Janet DeNeefe, director of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. “I just … [Read more...]
Cepuk Flies Everywhere
Can a book take you to fly far into the land of mystery? Of course, it can! And that’s what happened to me. It all started with the suggestion of a favorite editor for me to audition for the author of a children’s book organized by Yayasan Literasi Anak Indonesia (YLAI) for a joint project with Room … [Read more...]