THE LONTAR FOUNDATION
We are an independent, not-for-profit organization based in Jakarta, Indonesia,
promoting Indonesian literature and culture through the translation of its literary works
Against the Grain
By Suwarsih Djojopuspito
Translated by George A. Fowler
The Mystical Path of Badrul Mustafa
By Heru Joni Putra
Translated by George A. Fowler
The Lontar Anthology of Indonesian Drama
Vol. 1 Plays for the Popular Stage (1890-1960)
FEATURED TRANSLATOR
Matthew Isaac Cohen
Matthew Isaac Cohen is a professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut and a Guggenheim Fellow in Theatre and Performance Studies. A scholar of Indonesian theatrical practices and traditions, he performs wayang kulit on occasion under the name Kanda Buwana (“Storyteller of the World”), a name given to him the royal court of Kacirebonan, in Cirebon, West Java.
Cohen was a Fulbright scholar at the arts conservatory Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta in the late 1980s; conducted his doctoral fieldwork on wayang kulit in the Cirebon area in the 1990s; and researched the history of Indonesian popular theatre and live entertainment starting around 1998. His monograph Inventing the Performing Arts: Modernity and Tradition in Colonial Indonesia (2016) was researched and drafted as a research fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Among his translations are Demon Abduction: A Wayang Ritual Drama from West Java, published by Lontar in 1999, and the 2010 play anthology, The Lontar Anthology of Indonesian Drama, Volume 1: Plays for the Popular Stage (1890–1960).
He is currently completing a two-volume history of wayang puppetry in Indonesia which revolves around the Collection of Indonesian Puppets at Yale University the largest wayang collection in the world.
IN MEMORIAM
Kay Ikranagara in 2022
Kay Ikranagara was born and raised in the United States until 1957, when her father, the economist J. Bruce Glassburner, joined the joint University of California–University of Indonesia Economics Project, bringing the family to Jakarta.
In 1960, she returned to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. After conducting fieldwork in Jakarta, she completed her PhD in linguistics at the East-West Center, University of Hawaii.
Kay returned to Indonesia in 1969. While working on the Stanford program on language planning in Jakarta, she met and married the Indonesian playwright and director Ikranagara. They had two sons, Innosanto and Biko.
Over the following years, Kay held a variety of positions, most of them related to educational development and educational exchange.
She authored several papers and books on Indonesian linguistics, including a grammar of Betawi, the dialect spoken in Jakarta, published by Balai Pustaka in 1988. Most recently, she compiled and translated, together with Cobina Gillitt, six of her husband’s political and abstract plays. Titled Era of the Bat, the book was published by Lontar in 2024.
Kay’s broad smile, sparkling eyes, and generosity were legendary. She was a model for us all.
“The Smiling Semar from America” (Semar Mesem dari Amerika) is a documentary film devoted to the life of Gregory John Churchill (1947-2022) and his love of Indonesian puppets. During his decades in Indonesia he collected more than 8,000 puppets from around Indonesia and other parts of the world.
The film was produced by the Lontar Foundation under the supervision of John H. McGlynn and directed by Eva Tobing.
Novel Against the Grain karya Suwarsih Djojopuspito bukan hanya berbicara tentang dunia pergerakan, tetapi juga kehidupan rumah tangga kaum pergerakan, tarik-menarik antara dunia privat dan publik di masa yang penuh gejolak. Novel ini boleh disebut sebagai novel feminis pertama dalam sastra Indonesia.
Mari bergabung dalam peluncuran dan diskusi “Perempuan dan Pergerakan”.
Jumat, 23 Agustus 2024
19.00 WIB
Komunitas Utan Kayu
Jalan Utan Kayu Raya 68H,
Matraman, Jakarta Timur
Pembicara:
Dewi Widyastuti
Isyana Artharini
Moderator:
Dhianita Kusuma Pertiwi
Registrasi:
bit.ly/Against_The_Grain
Acara ini terbuka untuk umum, tempat terbatas, gratis dengan pendaftaran.
Terselenggara atas kerja sama Yayasan Lontar dan Komunitas Utan Kayu.
Didukung oleh Dana Indonesiana – Kemendikbudristek – LPDP
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