Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 172 (2016) 349–368 bki brill.com/bki Engaged Literature An Examination of Social Issues Reflected in Contemporary Indonesian Literature L.G. Saraswati Putri University of Indonesia [email protected] Djenar Maesa Ayu, Jangan Main-main (dengan Kelaminmu). Kumpulan Cer- pen. Jakarta: pt Gramedia Pustaka Utama, [2004] 2007, 122 pp. isbn 9792206701. Price: usd 2.53 (paperback). Damhuri Muhammad, Anak-anak Masa Lalu. Jakarta: Marjin Kiri, 2015, viii+ 121 pp. isbn 139789791260466. Price: usd 2.53 (paperback). Esha Tegar Putra, Dalam Lipatan Kain. Motion Publishing, 2015, 132 pp. isbn 9786027005464. Price: usd 3.9 (paperback). Kompas, Di Tubuh Tarra, dalam Rahim Pohon: Cerpen Pilihan Kompas 2014, Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas, 2015. isbn 139789797099497. Price: usd 4.55 (paperback). Okky Madasari, Entrok. Jakarta: pt Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2010, 282 pp. isbn 139789792255898. Price: usd 4.92 (paperback). Okky Madasari, Maryam. Jakarta: pt Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2012, 27 pp. isbn 139789792280098. Price: usd 5.64 (paperback). Okky Madasari, Pasung Jiwa. Jakarta: pt Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2013, 328 pp. isbn 139789792296693. Price: usd 3.98 (paperback). Made Adnyana Ole, Dongeng dari Utara. Yogyakarta: Akar Indonesia, 2014, 110 pp. isbn 139789799983893. Price: usd 2.53 (paperback). Oka Rusmini, Saiban. Jakarta: Grasindo, 2014, 56 pp. isbn 139786022516026. Price: usd 4.99 (hardback). © l.g. saraswati putri, 2016 | doi: 10.1163/22134379-17202018 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported (cc-by-nc 3.0) License. Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 04:01:16PM via free access 350 review essays Literature offers a unique way to peer into the collective consciousness. The aesthetic experience involves not only our cognitive abilities, but also our emo- tional sensibilities; it offers a window into social values and trends. Literature not only moves, entertains, and edifies, it also invites people to imagine other ways of living, to see alternative possibilities for their own lives and their own societies. In this way, literature has the power to inspire people to transform the world. Poems and prose can raise awareness and encourage resistance to injustice. Criticisms of socio-political life have appeared from the late colonial period through Suharto’s New Order in books, often republished, by a range of authors including Semaun (1899–1971), Mas Marco Kartodikromo (1890–1932), Wiji Tukul (1963-missing since 1998), W.S Rendra (1935–2009), and Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925–2006). Their works spoke on behalf of the marginalised, and criticised corrupt authorities. As literary historian Melani Budianta said, ‘fiction served as a means of voicing that which was silenced’ (Budianta 2009: 143–145). One prominent theme in recent literature is the Tragedy of 1965, which refers the army’s annihilation of Indonesian Communist Party members, sympathis- ers, and many thousands of ordinary people in civil society. For decades after 1965, this history was virtually blacked out by authorities, and in schools and the media, people learned a sanitised, propaganda version of what happened. So, younger generations living in post-1998 Indonesia have become aware of the events of 1965 in part through literary works by writers who lived through that time and directly experienced its horrors. The flavour of the times is con- veyed in novels and short stories such as Pulang (‘Home’) by Leila Chudori (born in 1962), Blues Merbabu by Bre Redana (born in 1957), Drupadi by Fajar Arcana (born in 1965) among others. But here I want to focus on other themes in contemporary Indonesian literature. Generally, the recent scene of contempo- rary Indonesian literature readership comes from diverse background, namely literary critics, university’s students, academics, researchers, journalists, and activists. This readership is supported by the major bookstore companies such as Gramedia and Gunung Agung, but now the appearances of online and indie bookstores also play an important role to extent the number of readers. In ‘A many-headed Machine’, Henk Maier (2015) discusses Indonesian liter- ature over generations, arguing that after 1970 it has become far more diverse in its methods and choice of themes than in previous decades.1 According to 1 He identifies the emergence of several varieties, namely Islamic literature (sastra islam), literature of the interior (sastra pedalaman), cyber-literature (sastra dunia maya), regional literature (sastra regional), contextual literature (sastra kontekstual), fragrant literature (sas- tra wangi) and wild literature. See Maier 2015. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 172 (2016) 349–368 Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 04:01:16PM via free access review essays 351 Maier, Indonesian literature has had a less explicitly nationalist focus, instead emphasising more personal themes and narrating the actualities of socio- economic matters, as in the work of Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The following review essay proposes a new mapping of socially engaged topics in Indonesian literature during the reformation era since President Suharto stepped down in 1998. I analyze contemporary literary work emerging in Indonesia in the context of social and political changes, changes both reflected in and inspired by the upheaval of these years. This context of socio-political turmoil, along with women’s voices, gender issues, and a new environmental awareness, has influenced the current style and mood of Indonesian literature. I investigate literary works that developed during the reformation era, and discern some of the emergent themes, at a time when, unlike the New Order period, freedom was celebrated. But these works do more than celebrate, so this essay also looks into the challenges, problems, and inspirations faced by the present generation of young Indonesian writers. The essay is organised in three sections. The first part discusses recent works concerning how literature relates to present-day human rights problems, namely minority and civil rights in Indonesia. The second part looks at gender- related issues, which overlap with human rights violations, namely, women’s and lgbtiq (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer) rights. Lastly, the essay explores the role of environmental issues in Indonesian cur- rent literary work. Environmental degradation is a pressing concern now in Indonesia. Some of the urgent issues are deforestation in Sumatra and Kali- mantan, and the development of unsustainable practices that are destroying natural spaces and continue to encroach on animal habitat and threaten the survival of wildlife. I focus on writing that took place in the wake of the reformation era, includ- ing many woman authors, beginning with Ayu Utami (born in 1968), who published her debut still under the New Order. In general, women writers in Indonesia are stereotyped, relegated to a single second class category, but this unfortunate and condescending labeling2 ignores the great richness and vari- ety of contemporary writing by women. In the first section on ‘civil rights’,Okky Madasari (born in 1984, and a star of this generation), identifies urgent issues about religious freedom for the Ahmadiyya in Indonesia. Madasari also engages with gender issues, discussed in the subsequent section, where we find fel- low author Djenar Maesa Ayu, who in Menyusu Ayah (‘Sucking Father’s Milk’), addresses rape and sexual violence in Indonesia through a compelling and 2 Fragrant literature (see footnote 1) is a term referring to women authors in Indonesia, more than often this generalization disregards whatever themes these women are expressing. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 172 (2016) 349–368 Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 04:01:16PM via free access 352 review essays unconventional narration. Lastly, I look at writing about nature that reflects on how people are enduring the disappearance of natural spaces and the fading of traditional ways of life. The writers discussed are Made Adnyana Ole (born in 1968), Oka Rusmini (born in 1967), Guntur Alam (born in 1986), Gus tf Sakai (born in 1965), Damhuri Muhammad (born in 1974), and Esha Tegar Putra (born in 1985). Politics, Religion and Civil Rights Okky Puspa Madasari was born in Magetan Regency, East Java. She studied Political Science at Gadjah Mada University in 2005, and Sociology at the Uni- versity of Indonesia, finishing her Master’s degree with a thesis called ‘Geneal- ogy of Indonesian Novels: Capitalism, Islam, and Critical Literature.’ As a novel- ist, she is known as a realist who deeply portrays political and social conditions in Indonesia, a likely result of her early occupation as a journalist. She was a co-founder of and is currently involved in the asean Literary Festival, which promotes literary awareness among youth in Indonesia and the Southeast Asia region. She was the youngest author to win the Khatulistiwa (Kusala) Literary Award (kla) for her second novel Maryam, which centres on the experience of an oppressed minority, the Ahmadiyya. All around Indonesia, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have been suffer- ing from persecution by Muslim extremists. According to The Association of Religion Data Archives, there are approximately 400.000 Ahmadiyya in Indone- sia. Members of the Ahmadiyya community suffer from banning and closure of their mosques. Muslim extremists have also expelled them from their homes and workplaces. The