Bøger udgivet af Lontar Foundation

Iwan Simatupang (1928-1970) is widely recognized as one of the most original and important of all Indonesian authors. His book Ziarah (The Pilgrim) received the first ASEAN Literary award for the novel in 1977. It was the first truly modern novel in Indonesian and opened a new path in the literature of this vast nation. Kooong (which, in Indonesian, is the sound a pigeon makes-much like "coo" in English) was the last of Iwan Simatupang's four novels. originally written for a competition for young adult literature, it is a simple, almost childlike, work, which nevertheless has its own unique profundity. much of the book is taken up by Pak Sastro's comic search for inner freedom and personal authenticity, symbolized by his mute pet pigeon. the bird has no call. the background to Pak Sastro's search creates a vivid picture of rural Javanese society and the communal values it upholds at its best. Like all of Simatupang's works, Kooong contains his crazy sense of humor, his fascination with the ridiculousness of death, and his enormous respect for the so-called lunatic who lives outside the borders of conventional society. the novel stands on its own two pigeon feet. It is both funny and serious. But you cannot fully understand Iwan Simatupang's other novels, or his distinctive outlook on life and death, until you have read this book. It is a book for teenagers and adults alike.

A young Indonesian man named Talib Agian becomes an unwitting participant in a smuggling plot involving a mysterious letter. Why does he receive messages using a false name, and who are the gang members shadowing him from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Penang? Is this a criminal scheme, or a political conspiracy, threatening Talib Agian's fate and fortunes? The Secret Document is the first-ever title from the genre known as "Medan novels" to appear in English translation. Published in the pre-independence years in North Sumatra, Medan novels reflected the era's nationalist movements promoting anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism, and represented an antithesis to the cultural domination exercised by the Batavia-based Dutch colonial government. Spurring activity of independent local publishers, Medan novels helped spread literacy among the broad public, bringing together writers and readers from across the diverse archipelago. Translated by Mary Zurbuchen, The Secret Document is both a fast-moving adventure and fascinating picture of past times.

The Turning Wheel is the second in a series of three novels based on Putu Oka's life in the years following the events of 1965. While the first volume in the trilogy, Threads of Dignity, is a fictionalized account of his own experience of arrest, torture, and imprisonment, The Turning Wheel is an exploration of the lives of women whose menfolk shared Putu Oka's fate. Struggling for survival in a hostile environment, these women not only have to supply the material needs of their husbands in prison-everything from food to medicines-but also provide for the immediate demands of their families for food, shelter, and education. As the years pass, the draw on inner reserves of strength and resourcefulness and a growing sense of group solidarity in a struggle that persists long after their men return to a world they no longer recognize.

So begins a nightmare journey into the cruelty and deprivation of political imprisonment in the aftermath of the 1965 attempted coup and counter-coup that reshaped modern Indonesia. For ten years, Putu Oka Sukanta's protagonist Mawa is imprisoned without trial, subjected to interrogation under torture, and denied his basic freedoms and livelihood. Without any way of knowing how long his imprisonment will last, or whether he will ever emerge from it alive, he is initially dependent on others-both friend and foe-for his survival. Yet with the passing of time, and a painful adjustment to the realities of prison life, his survival becomes a personal quest that involves both body and soul. Weakened physically, Mawa grows spiritually, to the point where his experience of imprisonment becomes a story of survival against all odds. Enriched by sketches of daily life in prison and revealing insights into the backgrounds and outlooks of people Indonesia's New Order saw as betrayers of the nation, reads of Dignity occupies an important place in world literature. It is both a record of a little-known and often misunderstood chapter in the history of modern Indonesia and a story of courage and resilience in the face of barbarity. In speaking to the nation, it cries out to the world, asking to be heard in the name of our common humanity.

Red is Iwan Simatupang at his exhilarating best. The novel is the story of a tramp and two very different women, both of whom love him. It explores human identity, love and the nature of faith in a chaotic postmodern world.In so doing, it rejects old fashioned notions of character, plot, artistic commitment and logical content. Instead, it favours spontaneity, contextual authenticity and the exploration of naturally occurring situations.For Iwan Simatupang there is no morality that can prescribe how one should live in the face of human existence. It is something one just does. "Philosophy" is a verb, not a noun. And life is a journey, not a destination.

The author, C.W. (Bill) Watson, an Emeritus Professor of Anthropology of the University of Kent, has done extensive fieldwork in Indonesia. In addition to his numerous scholarly articles on Islam, politics, and modern Indonesian literature, he is the author of two books about autobiography and recent Indonesian history.

Spaces is an invitation to reflect on the meaning of life, a healing balm on the wounds of civilization.