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Association for Asian American Studies

Dalang Publishing hosted a book table at the recent Conference of the Association for Asian American Studies in the St. Francis Hotel at Union Square in San Francisco, March 29–31, 2018.

Sadly, Dalang was the only conference exhibitor with books on Indonesia among the 23 exhibitors attending. Dalang counted some 48 guests to our table. We made some good new contacts and, although we sold only 21 books, we are happy with the interest that was shown for Indonesian literature.

But noticing how actively the Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean populations were represented at the conference — and knowing that there are some 145,000 Indonesian citizens and according to a recording on Wikipedia some 100.000 Indonesian diaspora were living in the USA in 2010 — the absence of Indonesian representation in the conference program and conference attendance is disappointing and frustrating to those of us who are committed to spreading the history, culture, and beauty of Indonesia through writing.

Another concern arose at the conference, and it’s a concern that must be addressed by all who love Indonesia and are concerned about its future: Three people, at separate times, asked why I — a person of Chinese descent — was promoting Indonesian literature, when the Indonesians are “known” to massacre and discriminate against the Chinese. If highly educated people believe this, then we must work to reach all populations who are influenced by false propaganda. We cannot hope for a better future if we keep dwelling on a tumultuous past.

On a different note, thanks to Tuti, Dalang Publishing is proud to celebrate one full year of short story publishing with our April 6 website bilingual publication of Pohon Pu Tao Tua / The Old Pu Tao Tree by Teguh Afandi — translated by Laura Harsoyo.

We hope you have enjoyed the stories that have appeared on our website, without fail, every first Friday of an even month and that you will continue to support us.

We are now reading submissions year-round and look forward to receiving submissions that meet our writer’s guidelines as posted on this website. http:// dalangpublishing.com/writers-guidelines. Thank you for your support of our mission to contribute to the landscape of Indonesian literature.