memoir

The Sea

This article was published in Westerly magazine (Australia), Edition No. 62.2 (2017) The first time I saw the sea, I was five. My father took me to see the Indian Ocean. We lived in a small town near the southern coast of Java, so we refer to the ocean as the ‘South Sea’. The furious sea under the dusky and misty dawn emanated a mysterious, yet intense energy, which triggered an unprecedented sensation inside me, that I was very, very tiny and powerless before the nature. With his hand around mine, my father told me the story of the Queen of the South Sea. The beautiful goddess, always wrapped in a green dress, is a mighty spirit residing at the bottom of the sea: the one who makes this sacred sea so perilous; the one who so often takes lives. And so, fishermen, sailors, swimmers, even visitors who merely put their feet on the beach sand are carried away by under-water currents, transported to her palace at the bottom of the sea. Listening to this, I shivered. I held Father’s hand tighter. Father laughed, called me a coward. The mystical beliefs of Java somehow had become an essential part of [...]

December 6, 2019 // 6 Comments

[Audio] UWRF2013: Memoir

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2013 Memoir : Bernice Chauly, Salena Godden, Agustinus Wibowo & Janet Steele In life there are short stories, big stories, stories that end well & ones that don’t. Would you share them all, or put a shiny & more exciting glaze over them? How do these writers go about writing their memoir – how much is truth & how much is fiction? Left Bank, 13 October 2013 http://www.ubudwritersfestival.com/audio/memoir-bernice-chauly-salena-godden-agustinus-wibowo-janet-steele/ Featuring: Bernice Chauly Bernice Chauly is a Malaysian writer, poet and teacher. Born in George Town, Penang, to Chinese-Punjabi teachers, she read Education and English Literature in Canada as a government scholar. For over 20 years, she has worked extensively in the creative industries as a writer, photographer, actor and film maker and has won multiple awards for her work and her contribution to the arts. In 1998, she began organising literary events and, in 2005, founded Readings and CeritAku, which continue to be important platforms for established and emerging writers and poets in Kuala Lumpur. In 2011, she was Festival Director for the Writers Unlimited Tour Kuala Lumpur/Makassar and invited to be Festival Curator of the George Town Literary Festival in Penang, now in its [...]

December 5, 2013 // 0 Comments

Indonesia Book Fair (2013): Menulis Perjalanan Ke Dalam Diri Sendiri

http://www.indonesiabookfair.net/2013/11/09/agustinus-wibowo-menulis-perjalanan-ke-dalam-diri-sendiri/ Agustinus Wibowo: Menulis Perjalanan Ke Dalam Diri Sendiri Agustinus Wibowo (32), seorang backpacker penulis trilogi perjalanan Selimut Debu (2011), Garis Batas (2011), Titik Nol (2013) lahir 08 Agustus 1981 di Lumajang dan besar di sana. Kemudian, kuliah di Institut Teknologi Surabaya dan melanjutkannya di China. Seorang kutu buku yang tertarik pada backpacking ini, setelah berkenalan dengan backpacker perempuan asal Jepang. Pada tahun 2001, dia pun memulai perjalanannya ke Mongolia. Lalu, melanjutkannya lagi pada tahun 2005, setelah lulus kuliah, dengan melintasi Tibet, Nepal, ke gurun pasir India, pegunungan di Pakistan Utara. Dia juga sempat bekerja sebagai sukarelawan gempa Kashmir, ke pedalaman Pakistan, berkeliling Afghanistan dengan hitchhiking, lalu ke Iran, Tajikistan, Kirgistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan dan Turkmenistan. Perjalanannya terus berlanjut hingga Mei 2009, ketika akhirnya dia harus pulang ke Lumajang karena Mamanya divonis kanker dan harus menjalani pengobatan. Pada kesempatan pameran Indonesia Book Fair 2013, Sabtu (09/11) di Panggung Utama Istoran Gelora Bung Karno Senayan, Jakarta ia membagikan pengalamannya dalam menulis buku perjalanan. Ia sendiri jika disebut berbeda dengan penulis perjalanan lain tidak mengiranya dan begitu tahu. Karena konsep yang ia pahami dari travel writing ini dari awal sebelum ia menulis sering membaca buku-buku traveler [...]

November 9, 2013 // 0 Comments

Third Book, Titik Nol (Point Zero) is Coming

Faraway. Why everybody is obsessed by that word? Marco Polo traveled faraway from Venice to the Mongolian Empire. The explorers adventured through dangerous seven seas. The climbers put their life on the line just for a few moments conquering majestic peaks. He was also overwhelmed by the “faraway”. The Traveler decided to get involved in globetrotting journey. He sneaked to the forbidden land in Himalaya, staying in mysterious Kashmir, and became witness of warzones and massacres. Started by a dream, flowing like a series of dreams, this is a journey of a traveler searching for a meaning. Until to the point that he had traveled very, very far, he was forced to return home, kneel down besides his mother’s bed. And from the story of the very mother who has never traveled anywhere, little by little he revealed the meanings of journey that he was missing. Paperback, 568 pages Published February 2013 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama ISBN: 9789792292718 edition language: Indonesian For the details of this book, please visit : http://agustinuswibowo.com/TitikNol ——————————————————————————————————————————————– My third book, Titik Nol, is being released in Indonesia. This book is so special for me. It [...]

February 7, 2013 // 0 Comments