Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was a giant of world literature, a leading intellectual of the Indonesian left and a brilliant writer of fiction. He spent 15 years in prison – first under the Dutch, then under Suharto – and writing his most famous work while detained on the island of Buru. His major works include Perburuan (The Fugitive), Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations), Jejak Langkah (Footsteps), Rumah Kaca (House of Glass), Bukan Pasar Malam (It’s Not an All Night Fair) and the collection of short stories All That is Gone. He won many awards including the 2000 Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize and the 2004 Pablo Neruda Award. Pramoedya died in 2006.

‘Just as politics cannot be separated from life, life cannot be separated from politics. People who consider themselves to be non-political are no different; they’ve already been assimilated by the dominant political culture – they just don’t feel it any more’.