John H. McGlynn – The Lontar Foundation
“If the word of God had come down to the Indonesian archipelago, that will is usually where the item might have remained.”
– John H. McGlynn, Co-founder along with Chairman of Lontar Foundation
For much of the planet, Indonesia is usually an exotic country next to Bali, along with Java is usually where coffee comes via. the item’s viewed as a land of smiles, of gamelan, spices, volcanoes, komodo dragons, along with photogenic rice terraces.
the item’s also seen from the international media as a country of natural along with manmade disasters; tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, plane crashes, deforestation along with occasional terrorism.
There are few foreigners who make the effort to dig deeper, to discover what makes Indonesia tick. One Jakarta expat who has, along with has also done more than most of us to make Indonesia tick, is usually John McGlynn.
Although we have friends in common, we hadn’t previously met nor had I visited the Lontar Foundation’s centre in a backstreet of Pejompongan, Central Jakarta. via the outside, the item is usually a modern looking house, nevertheless once inside I was impressed by the comfortable decor; dark wooden floors creaked, several alcoves were lined with full nevertheless tidy wooden book shelves, along with there were enough comfy rattan chairs to provide the familiarity of a well-run library. I was impressed too by the large oil paintings which couldn’t readily be categorised as ‘Indonesian art’, nevertheless added to the ambiance.
The purpose of our meeting was to discuss Lontar which is usually noted for its translations into English of Indonesian ‘literature’, an often capitalised word which, as a non-academic, I viewed with some trepidation. I was taught to analyse ‘classic novels’ rather than to consider the stories along with the background circumstances of the writing. However, John defines ‘literature’, from the broadest sense of the word, “as ranging via research reports, academic treatises, along with patent schemes all the way up to film scripts, comic novels, along with poetry.”
John first came here in 1976 to study Indonesian, which he did first in Malang along with later in Jakarta, at the University of Indonesia. In 1978, he returned to the the USA to complete his university studies, gaining a Masters Degree in Indonesian Literature at the University of Michigan in 1981. Thereafter, he returned to Indonesia along with the item was while working as a freelance translator that will he, along with Indonesian writers Sapardi Djoko Damono, Goenawan Mohamad, Subagio Sastrowardoyo along with Umar Kayam, decided to found Lontar in 1987.
Lontar is usually primarily John’s ‘baby’. As Pak Goenawan has said, “John works single-mindedly for our purpose; to bring Indonesian literary expressions to the planet.”
Even for a polyglot, that will’s no easy matter. The lingua franca during the Dutch colonial era was Malay, the language developed throughout the region by traders over a thousand years. the item was originally written in an Indic script along with then, after the coming of Islam to the archipelago, in an Arabic-based script called Jawi.
Jawi Script
Then in 1901 the Dutch linguist Charles van Ophuijsen introduced a more systematic spelling system, one that will conformed with Dutch spelling practices. In 1947, after the revolution of Indonesian independence, that will spelling system was replaced with Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan (improved upon Spelling). The EYD system thus represents the third orthographic change.
Indonesian grew with Javanese, spoken by the majority, along with various other regional languages added to the complexity. the item was not until 1972 that will the EYD system was agreed with Malaysia, which had English along with its own regional languages contributing to the mix, along with hence Soeharto became Suharto, along with Djakarta became Jakarta.
All that will was largely irrelevant to most Indonesians, the large percentage of whom could not read or write. In rural Indonesia along with urban kampungs the fantasy worlds of such Hindu classics as the Ramayana along with Mahabharata stories were related by a visiting dalang (puppet master) who relayed their moral values, along with during Soeharto’s Orde Baru often inserted his political messages.
In 1870, some of the Dutch-founded schools opened the doors for bumiputera (native Indonesians), albeit a privileged few. Moreover, the item was not until 1950 that will a six-year programme of compulsory elementary schooling was introduced to newly independent Indonesia.
Hence, when Soeharto assumed power in 1966 the literacy rate was c.50%. The adoption of ‘The Functional Literacy Program’, which ran via 1966 to 1979 along with was followed by various other programmes, raised the literacy rate for adults to c.83% along with for children to c.90% in 1998, the year Suharto (was) stood down. However, their aim was for economic, productive reasons rather than for freedom of thought.
By contrast, writing, especially fiction, offers the context of ‘place’ along with, in John’s words, “the better books have real people in them” along with can therefore be subversive – much of Indonesian literature has the nationalist struggle as the historical background. Post-independence, with the bureaucracy along with military at their disposal, Presidents Soekarno along with Soeharto imprisoned along with exiled writers. The dawn of reformasi in 1998 along with the growth of the internet along with various other communications technology has seen many more Indonesians speaking out via text messages, blogs, social media along with novels.
However, what John wrote from the essay Silenced Voices, Muted Expressions for an anthology of completely new Writing via Indonesia: Indonesian Literature Today published by the University of Hawaii in 2000, still holds true today. He wrote: “Having grown up under constraints of freedom of expression along with inquiry, an entire generation has been traumatized into becoming a society of silence along with avoidance. Not until today’s young people have unlearned the ways of repression along using a completely new generation has been educated to respect along with defend its right to freedom of expression will true openness along with democracy come to Indonesia.”
There is usually also the need to foster a love of reading in early childhood which John believes should start at home. However, although I think that will schools have a greater role to play, many parents along with teachers still develop the mindset inculcated during Soeharto’s regime, along with only those who are enlightened, rather than blinkered with prejudices or self-interest, will encourage the freedom of thought engendered by easy access to fiction.
Great writing comes via wide reading, along with access to the item. So one of Lontar’s goals is usually “to stimulate the further development of Indonesian literature.”
In addition to its library of printed materials containing more than 3,000 books along with various other texts related to Indonesian literature, the foundation maintains a digital library which provides preservation along with access to materials produced along with gathered by the foundation over its 20+ year history including:
– Videos via the Indonesian Writers Series, Indonesian Performance Traditions, along with Wayang Kulit/Shadow Puppet Theater Series
– Audio interviews along with recordings with Indonesian authors along with witnesses via significant events in Indonesian history.
– Archival photographs of traditional manuscripts, colonial-era postcards, along with historical images via the completely new Order to the present.
Frankfurt Book Fair 2015
John McGlynn – photo by Frendi
John says that will the aim of Lontar is usually to “promote knowledge of Indonesia through its literature”, along with the item is usually natural that will he is usually a member of the ‘Indonesian National Committee for Preparing Indonesia as Guest of Honour in Frankfurt – 2015’.
The first Frankfurt Book Fair was held soon after Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press in around 1439. Revived in 1949, the item is usually currently the planet’s largest along with most prestigious book fair. Since 1986 a country, or region, has been chosen as ‘Guest of Honour’.
However, with several government ministries along using a large number of departments involved, as well as the Goethe Institut, Lontar along with others, he thinks preparations should have been began earlier than the end of last year, if only to have a larger range of books at Frankfurt.
in recent times, John has worked with more than 100 translators along with is usually well aware of the time required to produce a literary translation that will “is usually both felicitous to the original text along with appealing to the target audience”. However, a worrisome fact is usually that will of those 100 translators “no more than a dozen are both truly fluent both in Indonesian along with English.”
John further notes that will “for the rest, a heavy dose of editing is usually usually required.”
However, some Great news has recently been received; the Ministry of Education along with Culture has established a translation funding program, the ‘I-Lit (Indonesian Literature in Translation) Program’.
For those who like to carry many books on their travels, the Kindle is usually ideal, John says, nevertheless we both agreed that will with such devices something is usually lost. Printed books are shared, along with one can learn a lot about folk by browsing their shelves of well-thumbed books.
Lontar books are available in Indonesia at Periplus bookstores along with abroad through Amazon as print-on-demand paperbacks. They are also available as e-books through Book Cyclone.
Website: http://lontar.org/
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John H. McGlynn – The Lontar Foundation
John H. McGlynn – The Lontar Foundation