Dutch group sees bright future for local writes on world scene

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.