Dutch group sees bright future for local writes on world scene
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Utan Kayu International Literary Biennale 2005, which closes on Saturday evening, not only celebrated poetry, short stories and other prose works, but was also a testament to the high regard in which international parties hold Indonesian literature.
And it is the contributions of many countries, such as the Netherlands, the United States and Australia, and foreign organizations, including Stichting Winternachten, that have made it possible for the nation's writers to receive the recognition and exposure they deserve.
Maybe it is ironic that many foreign parties, individuals, organizations and governments give serious attention to the development of Indonesian literature, when taken in light of the alleged lack of concern -- as many claim -- from our own government. Having said that, however, one of the biennale's key sponsors this year was the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
According to Winternachten founder and chairman Ton van de Langkruis, a bright future awaits many of the nation's writers if they can overcome particular obstacles, mainly their ability to speak and write in English.
"It's very promising. I see many, many young writers here. The number is very large and increasing," van de Langkruis said recently during an interview at Wisma PGI, a colonial-style homestay on Jl. Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta.
Van de Langkruis' observation was drawn from the number of participants at the group's literary festivals, which has been increasing from year to year since Winternachten was set up in The Hague in 1995 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Indonesian independence.
He recalled that many people attended the first Indonesia- themed festival that Winternachten organized, which focused on Soekarno on Independence Day. That festival featured a theater production by noted director Jan Blokker as well as poetry and short story readings by some well-known Indonesian writers.
"It was full house. Many people, especially in The Hague, watched the performance. There is a market in the Netherlands (for Indonesian literature)," said van de Langkruis, whose mother-in-law was born in Indonesia.
Since then, Winternachten has held an Indonesia festival every year in The Hague. Meanwhile, some figures in the Indonesian literary circle started to wonder why such a festival could not be held here, in their country of origin.
Van de Langkruis supported the idea and assisted Komunitas Utan Kayu (KUK) -- a cultural center set up by celebrated essayist and journalist Goenawan Mohammad and his peers following the forced closure of Tempo magazine -- to organize the International Poetry Festival in 2001 with an extensive line-up of local participants that included not only popular writers, but also younger and less well-known authors.
The event was held again in 2003 as the International Literary Festival, with the addition of prose. With its success, this year's event was expanded further, taking on the name International Literary Biennale, with a greater number of participants -- not only from Indonesia and the Netherlands, but also from South Africa and Suriname.
"There is a cultural and language linkage between these four countries, so (the idea was) it would be interesting to meet writers from those countries together. We can share our experiences," van de Langkruis said.
Thus, Winternachten, with financial support from the Dutch Ministry of Culture, organized Dutch, Suriname and South African writers for the festival, while KUK arranged the Indonesian writers.
Van de Langkruis felt confident that, with a regular literary event such as the KUK biennale, Indonesian writers would have a much greater opportunity to participate in international events and share their experiences with international writers.
"We are not just facilitating the meetings. We also translate and publish Indonesian literary works," he said.
For example, Winternachten had already translated Ayu Utami's novel Saman into Dutch and published it in 2000.
Similarly, Winternachten literary editor Wilma Scheffer agreed that the chance for Indonesian writers to be known internationally was wide open, due to increasing number of young writers.
"They are more educated. More and more of them have ability in English. English ability is the most important if you want to enter the world," said Scheffer, whose mother is Indonesian.
She was particularly positive about the local phenomenon of teen lit, which refers to the explosion in literature by teen- aged writers -- mostly teenage girls.
"The future is very bright for Indonesian literature. I'm sure," she declared.