Brief Biographical Notes on Some Balinese Writers1

APPENDIX A Brief biographical notes on some Balinese writers1 I Putu Fajar Arcana (born 1965, Negara, West Bali), holds a degree from the Indonesian Department in the Faculty of Letters, Udayana University and has been working as journalist for more than ten years. He started on the local newspapers Karya Bhakti and Nusa Tenggara, then moved to the weekly news magazine Tempo and has been working for Kompas since 1994. He writes poetry and short stories and has recently begun to paint as well. He was one of the active members of Sanggar Minum Kopi and Yayasan Cak, who published the now defunct literary journal CAK. In 1996 he attended the Indonesian young poets’ forum ‘Mimbar penyair abad 21’ and several of his poems were published in the collection resulting from this forum. His own poetry collection Bilik cahaya was published in 1997. One of his poems was included in Menagerie 4 (2000) and Bali the morning after (2000). The works discussed here are two poems, Di depan arca Saraswati and Halaman kapur Bukit Pecatu. Fajar has published two short-story collections, Bunga jepun (2003) and Samsara (2005), and one essay collection on Balinese culture Surat merah untuk Bali (2007). I Gusti Bagus Arthanegara (born 1944, Singaraja) graduated from the Anthropology Department of Udayana University and studied Sinology in Beijing in 1965-1966, specializing in Chinese literature. He was one the most active fi gures in literary and arts activities in Bali in the 1960s when he was involved in arts and literary groups like Himpunan Peminat Sastra (HPS) Denpasar, Lembaga Kebudayaan Nasional (LKN) Bali, Himpi Bali and the Nandi Gumarang group. He published short stories, poems and drama. Most of his works were published in the local newspapers Suara Indonesia and Suluh 1 Very little biographical data for writers from the early periods is available. I Nyoman Darma Putra - 9789004253636 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 09:37:00PM via free access 278 Appendix A Marhaen (now the Bali Post). Besides writing in the Indonesian language, he also wrote poems in the Balinese language. His works appear in the collection Penyair Bali (1969) and his individual collection Surat Senja (1970). He worked as a school teacher and university lecturer before retiring as an offi cer at the Department of National Education (Bali region). The work discussed here is the poem Laut (1969). In 2007, he published his fi rst novel, Dunia kampus yang lain, set in Beijing in the mid-1960s. I Wayan Arthawa (born 1963, Karangasem, East Bali) began to have his poetry published in the Bali Post in the 1980s. He is among the young Balinese poets whose works were published in Horison (1994) and Kompas (2000). His works are included in the anthology Angkatan 2000 (The 2000 generation) and the anthology Bali the morning after (2000). The work discussed here is the poem Tanah leluhur (1994). Faisal Baraas (born 1947, Negara, West Bali) is a doctor who studied at the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, who now lives and works in Jakarta. He has published poems, short stories and essays on the arts, culture and health. His writing have been published in the literary and cultural magazines Sastra, Horison, and Zaman and in Kompas. In 1969, his poem Tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus won a prize from Sastra. His short-story collection titled Lèak was published by Balai Pustaka in 1983. Two of the short stories from this collection, Sanur tetap ramai and Tajen are discussed in this study. I Gusti Putu Bawa Samar Gantang (born 1949, Tabanan) began to publish poems in 1968 when he was still a high school student. He was also active in broadcasting literary appreciation programs on state and private radio stations in Denpasar and Tabanan. He was an active member of Lesiba and had three of his collections of poetry published by this organization – Hujan tengah malam (1974), Kisah sebuah kota pelangi (1976) and Kabut abadi (1979). He teaches Indonesian language and literature at a junior high school in Tabanan and is known for a unique poem that adapted a Hindu spell Modre. Recently, he has also written modern work in Balinese. His poem Gempa, included in Lesiba’s Antologi puisi Bali (1980), is discussed in this study. Putra Mada (born 1948, Denpasar), works as a sailor and has lived in East Java and in Jakarta. Although he has published several poems and stories in both local and Jakarta-based newspapers and magazines, he is not a well known I Nyoman Darma Putra - 9789004253636 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 09:37:00PM via free access Appendix A 279 literary fi gure in either Indonesia or Bali. The novel Liak ngakak (1978) is the only major work he has written, but because it was a published by a ‘popular‘ publisher, it has never been considered a ‘serious’ work in modern Indonesian literature. The fact that its theme is a rather sensational one also contributes to this perception. In 1981, however, when this novel was fi lmed, his popularity increased, particularly in Bali. I Gusti Ngurah Parsua (born 1946, Singaraja) holds a degree from the Agriculture Department at Udayana University. Ngurah Parsua was an active member of Lesiba. He has been writing poetry since the 1960s and is still an active writer. His poetry collections Matahari and Setelah angin senja berhembus (1973), Manusia perkasa (2007) and Sembilan puluh sembilan puisiku (2008) were all published by Lesiba, while his short-story collection Anak-anak (1987) was published by Balai Pustaka. He has also published a novel Sembilu dalam taman (1986). The works discussed here are Anak marhaen (poem), Setelah angin senja berhembus (poem), Sembilu dalam taman (novel), Tugu kenangan (short story), and Don’t forget John (short story). Ida Ayu Alit S. Rini (born 1960, Denpasar) obtained a degree in English Literature from Udayana University. Since the early 1990s, she has worked as an editor for the Bali Post, where she has published many poems and essays on literature, Balinese culture and women’s issues. She has received invitations (which she has so far been unable to accept) to attend writers forums and to write for national publications. Her works are included in Bali living in two worlds; A critical self- portrait (2001). The works discussed here are the poems Tanah sengketa (1993), Karena aku perempuan Bali (2000) and Perempuan yang jadi lambang (2000). In 2003, she published a poetry collection titled Karena aku perempuan Bali. Anak Agung Sagung Mas Ruscitadewi (born 1965, Denpasar) holds a degree in archaeology from Udayana University. Her poems and short stories have been published in the Bali Post, where she now works as a journalist. One of her short stories is included in Menagerie 4 (2000), while her poems have been published in the poetry anthology Teh ginseng (1993) and Bali the morning after (2000). In 1999 she published her own trilingual poetry collection (Indonesian, English and Japanese) entitled Hana bira. Ida Ayu Oka Rusmini (born 1967, Jakarta) holds a degree from the Indonesian Department in the Faculty of Letters, Udayana University. She now works as a journalist for I Nyoman Darma Putra - 9789004253636 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 09:37:00PM via free access 280 Appendix A the Bali Post. She attended the ASEAN writers’ workshop (1996) and the Indonesian International Poetry Festival in 2002. Her works are included in Angkatan 2000 Sastra Indonesia (2000), Menagerie 4 (2000), Bali the morning after (2000), and other collections of work by Indonesian writers. Her major works are the poetry collection Monolog pohon (1997), the novels Gurat-gurat (1997), Tarian bumi (2000) and Kenanga (2003, the rewriting of Gurat-gurat), and the short story collection, Sagra (2001). Recently, she has published three more poetry collections including Patiwangi (2003), Warna kita (2007) and Pandora (2008). The works discussed here are the poem Upacara kepulangan tanah, the novels Tarian bumi and Gurat-gurat and some stories from the collection Sagra. I Made Raka Santeri (born 1941, Denpasar) graduated from teacher training school but preferred to work in journalism. He wrote poems, short stories and essays on the arts and religion, which were published in the local newspapers Suara Indonesia, Suluh Marhaen (now Bali Post) and Angkatan Bersenjata (now Nusa) in the 1960s. At the same time, he was active in literary and arts groups like Himpunan Peminat Sastra (HPS) Denpasar and Lembaga Kebudayaan Nasional (LKN) Bali, and religious organizations. He was an active participant in the clash between Lekra and LKN in the mid-1960s. He has spent most of his time as a journalist, working fi rst for Bali Post and Nusa Tenggara, then as the Balinese correspondent for the national newspaper Kompas, until his retirement in 1997. He has published two books on Balinese customs, Kasta dalam Hindu (1993) (with Ketut Wiana) and Tuhan dan berhala (2000). The poems discussed here are Catatan buat anakku Sari (1966) and Revolusi (1966). I Ketut Yuliarsa Sastrawan (born 1960, Denpasar) began by publishing poems in the Bali Post and has been active in the theatre since he was at senior high school in Denpasar. He studied English literature at Udayana University and then lived and worked in Sydney for most of the 1980s. Since returning to Bali, he has continued to write poetry and drama. He published his bilingual (English-Indonesian) collections of poems, Suara malam (Night voices, 1996) and Jatuh bisu (To fall silent, 2006). His poetry is included in Bali the morning after (2000). One of his poems entitled Sakit (1993) is discussed in this study. Cok Sawitri (born 1968, Karangasem, East Bali), after graduating from Pendidikan Nasional University (Denpasar), worked as a journalist for the Bali Post, where she has published many of her poems.

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