Book scene something to write about

Book scene something to write about

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As 2000 passed into a new year, there were no rumblings that
anything earth-shattering would happen on the local literary
scene.

On the calendar were the regular run of book launchings and
the attendant signings and photo ops, although some, such as Ayu
Utami's Larung, her continuation of 1997's acclaimed Saman, were
much anticipated.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the grand old man of Indonesian
letters, was feted with the publication of five works, his Tales
of Jakarta, It's Not An All Night Fair and The King, the Witch
and Priest: A Twelfth Century Javanese Tale, taken from his
version of Calon Arang, in English translations and published by
Equinox, an exciting addition to the literary scene.

Toward the end of the year there was H.B. Jassin: Harga Diri
Sastra Indonesia, a collection of essays by the man once known as
the pope of literature for his creative writings, essays and
criticism.

Danarto, known in literary circles for his Sufi-themed works,
came out with a collection of short stories, Abracadabra, also at
the end of the year. In a nod to the power of youth culture and
his own exalted place in it, Seno Gumira Adjidarma launched his
Kematian Donny Osmond, a cleverly written hodgepodge of stories,
commentary, youth-speak and, yes, even a recipe for a favorite
fish cake dish!

And then there were the unforeseen but startling developments
that livened up the year.

First, there was the Supernova phenomenon, with a book by one
third of the RSD singing trio making huge literary waves. There
was also the debut of new literary honors, with the handsome cash
prizes for the winners showing that authors were finally getting
a little respect.

There was also the continued emergence of the bookstore,
something rare but much sought-after in the cultural backwater
that is sometimes Jakarta, defined as real, quality
establishments where the avid book reader could finally find the
most recent titles in a comfortable environment.

The year dawned with a hush that led to an almighty bang, with
the private publishing of Supernova by Dewi Lestari, using the
pen-name Dee. There was the temptation to scoff, to guffaw at the
literary pretensions, when news started to trickle out about the
singer plugging her new book.

It was Dewi, however, who was to have the last laugh.

Word spread about the revolutionary new book, the tale of a
couple of gay lovers searching for their own "supernova" of life.
With its pages crowded with basic concepts of modern physics,
some called it science fiction, but at its core it is a simple
and very conventional tale of enduring love, even if it is
between two people of the same sex.

From the literati, some of whom were taken aback and
challenged by the unconventional work, to students and 20- and
30-somethings, Supernova became the book to read. On-campus
discussions and seminars were held to pore over every word and
sentence of Dewi's masterpiece.

"Honestly, I was a bit shocked," Dewi, 25, said in August,
when the work was in its fourth print and had sold 48,000 copies,
a massive amount for a locally written and published work.

"It was only my dream to have one of my writings published --
that was my dream from the time I was a kid."

Other exciting happenings included Jeffrey Al Qatiri's
publication of the tale of Jakarta, told entirely in verse, yet
another promising sign of the emergence of a young generation of
talented writers, like Dewi and Ayu. The latter's Larung,
published in October and tackling some of the most sensitive
happenings of the country's modern history, stayed true to the
author's tradition of pushing the reader's moral buttons.

Acknowledgement of literary offerings came through the debut
of two new awards, the Lontar Literary Award and the
Khatulistiwa.

The Lontar Foundation, renowned for its tireless efforts to
put Indonesian literature and culture on the international map,
inaugurated its award by selecting Celana, a collection of poems
by Joko Pinurbo, and Kemilau Cahaya dan Perempuan Buta (The
Dazzle of Light and the Blind Woman), a collection of short
stories by Gus tf Sakai.

Each of the winning authors received Rp 5 million.

There was also the debut of the Khatulistiwa award, honoring
the country's best fiction.

The brainchild of Richard Oh, the owner of QB World Books, the
award was intended to raise the image of Indonesian literature
and to encourage more Indonesians to read.

Respected journalist Goenawan Mohamad was the winner for his
Sajak-sajak Lengkap (Complete Essays), tracing his development as
a writer and analyst from the 1960s to the present. He was chosen
for the main prize of Rp 30 million from a final list of
candidates that included Supernova, Sayap Jibril by Danarto, Kill
the Radio by Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hujan Menulis Ayam by
Sutardji Calzoum Bachri and Sampah Bulan Desember (December
Garbage) by Hamsad Rangkuti.

It was Ayu Utami who picked up the honor for an absent
Goenawan (away in America), showing the ties of solidarity and
respect among the older and younger generations of writers.

As further evidence of the growing market for books, Jakarta
welcomed a sleek, ultra-modern addition to its range of
bookstores, Aksara in Kemang, South Jakarta. Headed by the
indomitable Laksmi Pamuntjak-Johan, the author of the Jakarta
Good Food Guide, itself a local literary phenomenon in showing
that a restaurant guide can become a best-seller when it is
entertainingly written, the bookstore shares space with a
furniture store and a restaurant upstairs. All so chic and
sophisticated, like Ms. Pamuntjak herself.

It was something else for Jakarta's book lovers, following
Oh's excellent QB stores located in Central Jakarta, Plaza
Senayan and Pondok Indah. Even the venerable Times bookstores in
Plaza Indonesia underwent a much-needed makeover to keep up with
the competition.

Oh, himself an author and seemingly a fountain of endless
ideas about all things literary, also introduced The Jakarta
Review of Books, a local guide to books which would be better
with some tighter editing. Perhaps, with time.

Still, book lovers caught in the whirlwind of activity of the
last year, have no reason to complain. As it stands now, after
all the excitement of 2001, we can only wait for what 2002 has in
store for us.