Monday, 20 March 2006, 12:00 PM
Presented by John H. McGlynn, Lontar Foundation, Jakarta
| SPEAKER BIO: |
American translator John H. McGlynn is board chairman of the Lontar Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Started in 1987, the Lontar Foundation was co-founded by McGlynn and four Indonesian writers: Goenawan Mohamad, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Umar Kayam, and Subagio Sastrowardoyo.
The foundation is an independent organization, neither affiliated with nor intended to promote the interests of any particular political cause or group. The Foundation’s core activity is the translation and publication of Indonesian literary works for use in the teaching of Indonesian literature and culture abroad.
Prior to the establishment of the Lontar Foundation there was virtually no place on the world market for the sale of Indonesian literature in translation. Lontar pioneered this market by producing quality translations at an affordable price available both inside and out of Indonesia.
Lontar has produced over 30 translations of Indonesian literature, drama, poetry, and scholarly works since 1987. It is through these publications that Lontar expects to fulfill its long term goals:
* To stimulate the further development of Indonesian literature.
* To make Indonesian literature accessible to an international audience.
* To preserve for future generations Indonesia’s literary record.
Indonesian Literature is understood to include literary works both in the Indonesian language and other forms of the Malay languages as well as in other regional languages of the Indonesian archipelago. The same is true of the term, Indonesian Culture.
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