Goenawan Mohamad
(Java, Indonesia, 1941) isn't only is a famous poet, he's also a journalist, essayist, editor and columnist. Mohamad contributed to the creation of the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia. He took part in the struggle against Suharto's regime in many ways. He founded the succesful critical literary magazine Tempo, which was banned twice by the government. In 1995 Mohamad initiated the Institute for the Study of Free Information Flow. After Suharto's resignation in 1998, Tempo started publishing again. Mohamad has received various international awards for his readiness to resist. Several of his poetry collections were republished around his 70th birthday. His most recent collections are Don Quixote (2011) and 70 Puisi (70 Poems). In 1995, Mohamad was one of the participants of the first Winternachten festival, and has since returned to The Hague several times for the same purpose.
Past events
Indonesia: History is an Always-Broken Promise
Writers from Indonesia and The Netherlands look at the history and the way former colonizers are viewed now - plus readings.
Indonesia: from censorship to unprecedented freedom
Journalist/writer Goenawan Mohamad on his fight for the freedom of speech in Indonesia, and Dirk Vlasblom talks about his experiences as a newspaper correspondent with the Indonesian censor. Paul van der Gaag chairs the discussion. English spoken.
