Ada yang berminat? >Pram Conference in New York, April 1999 >THE VOICE OF PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER > >New York, April 22-24, 1999 > >ANNOUNCING PRAMOEDYA'S VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES > >Pramoedya Ananta Toer has accepted an invitation from the Literary Studies Program at Fordham University and the International Freedom to Publish Committee of the Association of American Publishers to travel to the United States to attend the academic conference at Fordham University and a book launch of the English language edition of his memoir, The Mute's Soliloquy (Hyperion East, April 23, 1999). On Saturday, April 24, 1999, he will participate in the day-long conference at Fordham, "The Voice of Pramoedya Ananta Toer in Indonesia and in World Literature," which is the main event in a three-day symposium which includes a reading and discussion with the author at the Asia Society on Thursday, April 22. Fordham University is proud to announce that the symposium has provided the occasion for Pramoedya's first overseas visit since the late 1950s, his first visit to the United States, and a historic tour throughout North America. In addition to New York, he plans to visit Washington, D.C., Ithaca, Ann Arbor, Madison, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Toronto. > >The conference is sponsored by the Literary Studies Program, the English Department, and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Fordham University, in conjunction with the International Freedom to Publish Committee of the Association of American Publishers. It is also being co-sponsored by PEN American Center, Penguin USA, Hyperion Press, Asia Society, the Indonesia Emergency Project,-IFCO, and The Lontar Foundation. > >ANYONE WISHING TO ATTEND THE CONFERENCE IS NOW ASKED TO RESPOND BY EMAIL >([EMAIL PROTECTED]) OR PHONE (718 817-4732) AS SPACE MAY BE LIMITED. > >Appended to this is an outline of events taking place in the two days before the Saturday conference, with information on how to get to the conference location. > >SYMPOSIUM DESCRIPTION > >The purpose of the symposium is to engage public and scholarly debate on the significance of Pramoedya Ananta Toer's work both for Indonesia and for world literature. Pramoedya is the author of numerous novels and collections of short stories, including the internationally acclaimed quartet of novels, THIS EARTH OF MANKIND, CHILD OF ALL NATIONS, FOOTSTEPS, and HOUSE OF GLASS (widely available in Penguin paperback). Published in the 1980s, the Buru tetralogy (named after the island where they were composed in prison exile) traces the emergence of Indonesian anti-colonial nationalism over the turn of the century. > >The timing of the conference coincides with the publication of the English translation of Pramoedya's memoir, THE MUTE'S SOLILOQUY. There will be a reading from the memoir and discussion at the Asia Society in the evening of Thursday, April 22. Composed in Buru Island prison, THE MUTE'S SOLILOQUY records the conditions and circumstances that transformed Pramoedya from one of Indonesia's most prominent, widely-published writers into a political prisoner who, even after his release 14 years later, was to remain under house arrest for many years to come. Once the literary voice of anticolonial Indonesian nationalism, Pramoedya became, after 1965, the internationally recognized voice of dissidence in Soeharto's "New Order" Indonesia. > >The Saturday conference will be divided into a morning and afternoon session, and we have invited Pramoedya to speak between the two sessions, and at the very end of the conference. In the morning session, speakers will address the topic of "Pramoedya's Voice in Indonesia." > >Besides Pramoedya himself, the speakers will be: > >NANCY FLORIDA, associate professor of Indonesian languages and literatures at the University of Michigan. She is an expert on Javanese literature and is the author of Writing the Past, Inscribing the Future (Duke, 1995), a landmark book at the juncture of literature, history, and anthropology. > >JOESOEF ISAK, former journalist, political prisoner, and now a freelance editor. He played a crucial role in giving a voice to Pramoedya, when, after release from Buru in 1979, the works that he published were banned, one after the other, with severe penalties for circulating or discussing it. > >HENDRIK MAIER, Professor of Malay Languages and Literatures at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, is an internationally renowned scholar of Indonesian literature, and has translated into Dutch Pramoedya's epic historical novel, Arus Balik (Reverse Tide), set in the sixteenth century on the eve of Europe's colonial involvement with Indonesia. > >JOHN McGLYNN, translator and editor of more than 30 books on Indonesian language, literature, and culture, is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Lontar Foundation, a not-for-profit organization in Jakarta devoted to the promotion of Indonesian literature and culture abroad. > >The afternoon session of the conference will address "Pramoedya's Voice in World Literature." The intention here is to engage our speakers and the audience in discussion and debate on the significance of Pramoedya's work for world literature. Like many of the great writers of the twentieth century, Pramoedya's fiction is forged from an astonishing diversity of cultural traditions, and addresses a similarly complex diversity of readers. If Pramoedya is an exemplary voice in world literature, he also poses a set of paradigmatic problems of world literature. To whom is Pramoedya's voice addressed? Who has heard of Pramoedya? What have we heard of him? How does his voice come through in translation? Is it possible to speak of world literature in light of the cultural, linguistic, and political distortions that condition the voice of this Indonesian writer? How do such distortions define the condition of world literature today? > >All are welcome to the conference and related events. Even if you cannot attend, however, we ask you to consider contributing to the discussion. In advance of the mini-conference, WE INVITE YOU TO FORMULATE WRITTEN QUESTIONS OR STATEMENTS ON THE TOPIC OF "PRAMOEDYA'S VOICE IN WORLD LITERATURE." These may provide a basis for the afternoon session. Please send written questions or comments by March 15 to: > >Chris GoGwilt, >The Literary Studies Program, >FMH 405F, >Rose Hill Campus >Fordham University >Bronx, NY 10458 > >Fax: 718 817-3987 >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] FATAL ERROR! SYSTEM HALTED! - Press any key to do nothing... ICQ - 23276722 http://hey.to/kj - last update: 28 march 1999 ______________________________________________________________________ To subscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Indonesia Baru: berkeadilan tanpa kekerasan!
