Edition 121: Jul-Sep 2015 - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia

Nov 22, 2024 Last Updated 2:20 AM, Oct 31, 2024

Inside Indonesia

Indonesian writing in the present: Introduction

Hasta Mitra, the publisher of Pramoedya’s books, made representations to the Indonesian Attorney General after he banned two works by Pramoedya in 1986. (Photo: Inside Indonesia)

Important Indonesian writing is emerging in unexpected forms

What’s trending?

Author, translator and scriptwriter Maggie Tiojakin writes in English and Indonesian.

Young Indonesians are leading trends in Indonesian writing and publishing

New aromas

The most popular films of recent years were adapted from novels. This crowd has gathered in a bookshop in Yogyakarta to meet Vino Bastian and Laura Basuki, lead actors in the film adaptation of Madre (2013), based on Dewi Lestari’s 2011 short story of the same name. (Meg Downes)

'Fragrant literature' is giving way to a diversity of literary voices and identities

A many-headed machine

W.S. Rendra was the true heir of Chairil Anwar, the personification of the Angkatan 45.

The story of Indonesian literature is a fragmenting journey from national myth to bewildering multiplication

The Mahabharata in comics

Teguh Santosa was able to overcome a challenge that any comic artist undertaking the Mahabharata must face: the representation of the Bahgavadgita (the translation of the text can be found at the conclusion of the article).

Reincarnations of works by the great Indonesian comic artists challenge manga’s dominance

Palm-leaf manuscripts in today’s Bali

Ida Dewa Gede Catra engraving a lontar in Amlapura. (Andrea Acri)

The world of lontar will likely continue side by side with the new technologies of our digital age

T-shirt cosmopolitanism

Nanoe Biroe’s t-shirt designs feature words and phrases in large letters, as if they were being yelled. This one reads ‘YOU THINK YOU’RE SMART? I AM STUPID AND IT DOESN’T MATTER! I’D RATHER BE STUPID THAN CONCEITED!’ (credit: U-Rock Bali)

Popular forms of writing in public reveal the richness of Balinese revitalisation

Latest Articles

Tetangga: These are the stories of our neighbours

Oct 23, 2024 - ASHLYNN HANNAH & SOFIA JAYNE

Introducing a new podcast series

Obit: Adrian Horridge, 1927-2024

Oct 22, 2024 - JEFFREY MELLEFONT

From distinguished neurophysiologist to maritime historian

Book review: The Sun in His Eyes

Oct 07, 2024 - RON WITTON

Elusive promises of the Yogyakarta International Airport’s aerotropolis

Oct 02, 2024 - KHIDIR M PRAWIROSUSANTO & ELIESTA HANDITYA

Yogyakarta's new international airport and aerotropolis embody national aspirations, but at what cost to the locals it has displaced?

Book review: Beauty within tragedy

Sep 09, 2024 - DUNCAN GRAHAM

Subscribe to Inside Indonesia

Receive Inside Indonesia's latest articles and quarterly editions in your inbox.

Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.