Imas Sobariah: Putting women's issues on center stage Feb 16, 2009
Plays she has directed - most of which feature strong female characters - include her own Wanci (1995), Kosong (Empty) by M. Noor (1996), Lysistrata (Aristophanes, 1997), Antigone (Jean Anouilh, 2000), Pelayan (Waitress) (Jean Genet, 2003) and Nyai Antosoroh (Strong Women) adapted from the novel Bumi Manusia (Earth of Mankind) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (2007). It was Nyai Antosoroh that really earned Imas acclaim and helped her gain a reputation for representing on the stage the social oppression... (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Puppetmaster's ambition knew no end Jan 27, 2008
Many, such as the writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, were kept in labour camps on the remote island of Buru. According to the army's later papers, the PKI was behind the coup, manipulating gullible left-wing officers such as Untung through a mysterious "special bureau" that reported only to the party secretary, D.N. Aidit. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Last days of the general: Suharto's legacy Jan 27, 2008
Thousands of political prisoners were kept in labour camps on Buru Island, including Indonesia's best-known author Pramoedya Ananta Toer and other members of the intelligentsia. Independent analysts and NGOs said violations of human rights were common. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Indonesia's students want justice for Suharto Jan 19, 2008
Up to half a million people died in an army-backed purge in the following months, while intellectuals, teachers and artists, including the writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the painter Hendra Gunawan, were among the thousands of Indonesians sent to jail or labour camps for suspected left-wing sympathies. Today in Asia - Pacific. (International Herald Tribune)
Indonesian author dazzles literati at Paris conference Jan 13, 2008
The young Indonesian author might someday attain the international attention shown for the opus of Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Early last December Ayu Utami presented her book to 40 members of the Franco-Indonesian association Pasar Malam. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
'Arok of Java': A coup d'etat and a snotty heroine Nov 18, 2007
Non-Indonesian speakers can now enjoy Arok of Java, the latest translated work of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature during his lifetime. The original was published in 1999 under the title Arok Dedes: Ken Arok was a low-caste rebel who led a devious coup d'etat against a 13th-century ruler. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Pramoedya Ananta Toer Oct 17, 2007
The Greatest Modern Writer of Indonesia. This is an introduction to his life. (Suite101.com)
Faiza Mardzoeki: Life-changing experience at a garment factory Aug 26, 2007
Nyai Ontosoroh is an adaptation of Bumi Manusia, a novel by renowned author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The play was her second for the theater. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
'Nyai Ontosoroh' to be staged in Jakarta Aug 12, 2007
Written by scriptwriter/producer Faiza Mardzoeki, Nyai Ontosoroh is an adaptation of Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), a novel by renowned author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. "Nyai Ontosoroh is a figure in the novel who has a strong personality. She provides inspiration. Overall, the novel has some dramatic elements that drove me to bring them to the stage," Faiza told a media conference Friday. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Govt told to revise law on crimes against state Aug 9, 2007
"Many banned books written by the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer are on sale in bookstores in Jakarta but none have been seized. Only certain textbooks have been confiscated," he said. Rival G. Ahmad, advocacy coordinator at the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Study, said the 1999 law and a relevant decree from the People's Consultative Assembly should be brought to the Constitutional Court for review because they were not in line with the 1945 Constitution. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia)
China's main land Jul 12, 2007
There is a very long list of similar claims by Indonesians, including the family of Indonesia's most acclaimed writer, the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who say the government and military took their property in the 1960s on the pretext of alienating any "communist elements". China is more fortunate than thousands of Indonesian victims because its claim is a government-to-government matter. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Editorial)
Rondeau: Photography beyond the frame May 21, 2007
The same mood is also found in his photograph of the grave of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia's best-known novelist and author of the Buru Quartet, with blurred trees in the background. It evokes a sense of the transient to which even Pramoedya, who survived persecution, imprisonment and censorship, ultimately had to submit. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Teater Satu to stage Pram's work Apr 13, 2007
Teater Satu, a leading theater group in Lampung, will stage from April 13-14 Nyai Ontosoroh by the late senior writer and novelist, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, at the Taman Budaya cultural center on Jl. Cut Nyak Dien, Bandarlampung. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Hernadi Tanzil: A helping hand for book lovers Mar 16, 2007
A great fan of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Karl May and Paulo Coelho, Tanzil feels grateful for the opportunities he has been given. Not only because lots of publishers now send him books for free, but also because he gets to meet people who can help him hone his skills and increase his knowledge. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Legends, leaders, and legacies: The year in farewells Jan 1, 2007
Also for novelists Frederick Busch, Michael Gilbert, John McGahern, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Sybille Bedford, Henry Farrell, Dorothy Uhnak, Octavia Butler, Jack Williamson, William Diehl, Bebe Moore Campbell, and John Ford; and, critics Ellen Willis, Gilbert Sorrentino, and Philip Rieff. Bowing out, too, were historians Robert Peterson, Theodore Draper, Jaroslav Pelikan, Leonard Levy, Lawrence Levine, Curtis Cate, George Tindall; poets Peter Viereck and Barbara Guest; editors Barbara Epstein,... (Boston Globe -- Nation)
