Footprints is a unique anthology, as it gathers the work of authors, who are well known as well as newcomers, including one winner of a youth writing competition and a first-time writer. The selections move from the generation of Budi Darma and Mochtar Loebis to the next generation of Zen Hae and Linda Christanty to the current generation - a twelve-year-old writer. Some stories were previously published; others are the output of creative writing workshops held by Dalang in collaboration with renowned Indonesian universities. By pulling all of these diverse stories together, this anthology signals that the world of fiction is eager to record the footprints of all who travel this path - young and old alike. This bilingual publication also serves as an inspiration for translators to participate in introducing Indonesian fiction to the world. The featured translators include the experienced, the apprentices, and the alumni of Dalang workshops held in collaboration with their university. The voluntary and collective work of translating Indonesian stories into English shows an enthusiasm to promote Indonesian literature. The collected stories encompass a wide variety of narrative styles, from the surrealistic, absurd, and mystical to the down-to-earth and sliceof- life writing. The story settings cover the colonial era up to the present. With stories from Aceh to Papua to as far as the New Zealand coast, Footprints reveals a myriad of complex social issues for the intellectual to examine and contemplate. One common theme is the compassion towards the marginalized and the downtrodden. Footprints provides rich sources for coursework, in particular for gender and postcolonial studies. It also provides inspiring material for creative writing and translation studies.
Author Biography:
Junaedi Setiyono was born in Kebumen, Central Java. He was awarded a scholarship from Ohio State University as part of his doctorate degree in language education, which he received in 2016 from the Semarang State University. He teaches writing and translation at his alma mater in Purworejo. He has translated stories for Dalang Publishing's website. His latest novel Tembang dan Perang (Kanisius, 2020) was translated by Oni Suryaman into English as Panji's Quest (Dalang Publishing, 2020). He also authored three other award-winning historical novels: Dasamuka (Penerbit Ombak, 2017), which won the 2020 literary award from the Indonesian Ministry of Cultureand Education and received the Majelis Sastra Asia Tenggara (Mastera) 2020 award was translated into English by Maya Denisa Saputra under the same title (Dalang Publishing, May 2017). Arumdalu (Serambi, 2010) was longlisted for the 2010 Khatulistiwa Literary Award, and Glonggong (Serambi, 2007), won the Jakarta Arts Council 2006 award and was finalist for the 2008 Khatulistiwa Literary Award. Award-winning author and journalist Ahmad Tohari was born into a farming family in Tinggarjaya, a village in Central Java. His love of the countryside is apparent in his writing. He sees himself as a progressive religious intellectual who supports Islamic beliefs and laws while living in harmony among Indonesia's diverse ethnic cultures and traditions.He has authored eleven novels as well as other literary works. Bekisar Merah (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2011) was translated into English as The Red Bekisar by Nurhayat Indriyatno Mohamed (Dalang Publishing, 2014). Ahmad Tohari is best known for his trilogy Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (Gramedia, 2011), which was translated into Dutch, German, and Japanese. The Dancer is the English translation by René T.A. Lysloff, (The Lontar Foundation, 2012). The book was also adapted into the film Sang Penari. Born in Ponorogo, East Java, widely-published author Han Gagas is an alumnus of the Faculty of Geodesy at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta. His short stories have appeared in media such as Horison, Kompas, Tempo, Republika. His novel Balada Sepasang Kekasih Gila won the 2020 Falcon Script Hunt competition and was adapted into a film by Falcon Pictures in 2022. His travel journal, Adzan di Israel (Penerbit Gading, 2022) is his latest publication. Sepasang Mata Gagak di Yerusalem (Interlude Publishers, 2021) is a short story collection. His debut novel was Orang-orang Gila (Buku Mojok, 2018).
