Modern Indonesian Literature (001) by A. Teeuw


Modern Indonesian Literature (001)
Title : Modern Indonesian Literature (001)
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 9067652083
ISBN-10 : 9789067652087
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 254
Publication : First published January 1, 1967

The histQry of this book dates back exactly 20 years. When I first set foot on the shores O'f Indonesia in September 1947, I was, amongst other things, assigned the task 0'£ teaching Malay literature in an advanced teacher-training course, with the instructiOon to' lay stress on modern literature. This was easier said than done, as very little had been written Oon the subject, and few materials were available to me. From this period I recall with great gratitude the regular and friendly contacts I had with Mr. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, whO' in many ways me with information and documentatiO'n. helped The editQrs of the magazine "Kritiek en Opbouw" found my lecture­ nffies Qn some pre-war authors worth publishing. These articles, with an introduction on Bahasa Indonesia and some other additiQns, were subsequently coUected and published by Pembangunan under the title Voltooid Voorspel (Completed Prelude) (Djakarta 1950). The little book sold fairly quickly, but rather than publishing a new edition in Dutch the publisher was interested in bringing out an Indo~ nesian adaptation. Much material was added, the larger part of which had been CQllected by writing occasional reviews Qf Indonesian literary works for the Dutch newspaper Nieuwsgier in Djakarta. The text of the book was very conscientiously turned intO' Bahasa Indonesia by Anku Raihul Amar gl.

Modern Indonesian Literature (001) Reviews

  • Sunrise

    Teeuw's study of modern Indonesian literature is indispensable to anyone who wants to learn more about the subject. He covers in great detail the period of the beginnings of a modern, Indonesian-language literature in the 1920s (which was the decade that an "Indonesian language" was brought into being) to the time of writing, which was the late 1960s. The first half of the book is devoted to writings before 1942, the year the Japanese took over the archipelago, and the second half to those that followed. Teeuw himself arrived in Indonesia in 1947 and was acquainted with many of these authors first-hand.

    The main qualification of this book is simply that not enough people have written about the history of modern Indonesian literature (in any language), which makes Teeuw's gathering of facts and critical judgments much more important than it might otherwise be. He gives plenty of room to both overall trends and specific authors. Considering that not even as important an author as Pramoedya Ananta Toer has had all of his writings translated in English, it's very helpful of Teeuw to have written a bit about each of his books, and about others like Sitor Situmorang and Ajip Rosidi.

    There are flaws to the book, though. Teeuw has here taken on the role of both historian and critic: he is giving his personal judgment of many of these authors. I just find him, as a critic, to be irritating. A lot of these writers he considers to be faulty or second-rate, even ones I like. Yet when he endorses a writer, he can't really convey what's so good about them. In short, he's not much of a critic. And I think this will leave an even worse impression on readers who don't know much about Indonesian literature to begin with. He can't convey the interest and worth of the writers he describes. He can't introduce them to new readers with any effectiveness.

    This is not a complaint, but this book was published in 1967, and Teeuw writes as if the continuity between the early 60s and post-1965 could be taken for granted. Of course, at the time, it was hard to be clear about just what had happened in 1965, but we now know it was a CIA-assisted mass murder on a breathtaking scale. Teeuw does refer to the events of 1965 in the last chapter, and the "Generation of 66" that was born afterwards. But his tone of "life goes on" seems so strangely out of touch with this momentous turning-point in Indonesian history.

    Well, in spite of the flaws of the book, I devoured it greedily. That's because I think Indonesian literature is very interesting, and I'm eager to learn as much as I can about Indonesian authors, especially those of the 1940s and 50s. Teeuw delivers a lot of great information. Given that interest in Indonesian literature has never been strong, and new publications on the topic are a rarity. I don't think we'll be getting a new and updated history of Indonesian literature anytime soon. Until that day comes, Teeuw will do just fine.