‘i am not here!’ ha you were never there not in yr head Herman Neubronner you lost it in a Rampokan Jawa some nautical miles off the margins of yr mind skin the beast chariot-break it it’s one’s civilization that isContinue reading “van der Tuuk you old goat”
Author Archives: mikaeljohani
Cimetière du du du du
du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du du semakin lama semakin susah menemuimu di antara segala macam hiper-keisengan kota ini bayangkan beratnya menahan godaan memesan moja whopper dan curly cries bayangkan susahnya tidak mencari-cari kelucuan pada baliho the kingdom denganContinue reading “Cimetière du du du du”
MADAME BOVARY
Gustave Flaubert After seeing the restored version of Usmar Ismail’s Lewat Djam Malam, I realized that Emma Bovary and Laila share the same tragic failing: both longing to transcend their world but fail miserably because they pin the wrong things on their Pinterest ancien’s boards.
TEMPO DOELOE
A collection of tempo doeloe-era short stories edited by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. In Melayu Pasar not Indonesian, presented in original Van Ophuijsen spelling. It reads like a cerita silat anthology with local characters. Full of penyamoen, boedak, fat sopi-drinkin Kandjeng Toean, baba-baba Tjina, cowardly politie, et al. Settings are surprisingly more Batavia coret than downtown:Continue reading “TEMPO DOELOE”
DOUBLE FOLD
by Nicholson Baker Read this during my Nicholson Baker phase. Which came right on the heels of my John Updike phase. In hindsight, I only liked Baker’s non-fiction works–this, a tirade against microfiche which I thoroughly support, and his literary stalking of Updike in U & I. I kept trying to read his micro-detailed fictionContinue reading “DOUBLE FOLD”
BURUNG-BURUNG MANYAR
oleh Y.B. Mangunwijaya Bildungsroman prajurit KNIL cemen yang cinta mati dengan teman masa kecilnya di Kraton Mangkunegaran yang sekarang bekerja sebagai asisten Syahrir di pihak Rikiblik. Apa daya Konferensi Meja Bundar membuat kisah cinta mereka jadi pear-shaped. Di waktu tua, saat Montague sudah menjelma dari Belanda menjadi Freeport dan Capulet menjadi keluarga sakinah beranak tiga,Continue reading “BURUNG-BURUNG MANYAR”
KUMPULAN BUDAK SETAN
oleh Intan Paramaditha, Eka Kurniawan, Ugoran Prasad Intan’s three stories that were not already published in Koran Tempo are, suprisingly, the best. Surprising since her previous short story collection Sihir Perempuan was a bit stiff, sounding more like a tome of recyled gothic THEORIES than deconstructed-then-rebuilt gothic stories some critics claimed it to be. InContinue reading “KUMPULAN BUDAK SETAN”
7 kelahiran, 3 kematian, dan 1 imigran
Courtney Sina Meredith terjemahan oleh Mikael Johani Gaun 3 Euro di K Road katun hitam tanpa beha. Musuh bebuyutanku di ujung jalan sementara laki laki yang menggenggam tanganku tadi malam menambahku jadi teman di Facebook. Kota ini telah menjadi tubuh yang lain kulit yang membentang seperti kolam renang kuterjun dan kucium seutuhnya.Continue reading “7 kelahiran, 3 kematian, dan 1 imigran”
sepasang
Nostalgia = Transcendence Toeti Heraty Nostalgia is transcendence, yes, it’s another play on words and foreign words at that but everything is foreign now everything is an illusion let’s get back to nostalgia it is also, a loss, shadows in our memory which have lost their terror, irony has pillowed them the present in flashbackContinue reading “sepasang”
arch
you’re pretty as a shadow a thin shroud packed in rays of neon i took a flight of fancy i broke the keel on my wild boat your heels, lifted off the ground tempat berlindung di hari tua saat sepi menutup mata
Divagyrations 