Book launch: ‘Apple and Knife’ by Intan Paramaditha, Thursday 10 May, 6 – 7.30 pm
Book launch:
‘Apple and Knife’ by Intan Paramaditha
Thursday 10 May, 6 – 7.30 pm
Venue: Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room, Sidney Myer Asia Centre (Level 1), The University of Melbourne
This will be the launch of Apple and Knife, the English translation (by Stephen J. Epstein) of a collection of Indonesian fiction by Dr Intan Paramaditha. The book is published by the Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation Brow Books. Intan will be in conversation with Indonesian author, journalist and researcher Dr Lily Yulianti Farid. The discussion will be followed by Q @ A, and Intan signing copies of her book.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Inspired by horror fiction, myths and fairy tales, APPLE AND KNIFE is an unsettling ride that swerves into the supernatural to explore the dangers and power of occupying a female body in today’s world. These short fictions set in the Indonesian everyday—in corporate boardrooms, in shanty towns, on dangdut stages—reveal a soupy otherworld stewing just beneath the surface. Sometimes wacky and always engrossing, this is subversive feminist horror at its best, where men and women alike are arbiters of fear, and where revenge is sometimes sweetest when delivered from the grave.
Inspired by horror fiction, myths and fairy tales, APPLE AND KNIFE is an unsettling ride that swerves into the supernatural to explore the dangers and power of occupying a female body in today’s world. These short fictions set in the Indonesian everyday—in corporate boardrooms, in shanty towns, on dangdut stages—reveal a soupy otherworld stewing just beneath the surface. Sometimes wacky and always engrossing, this is subversive feminist horror at its best, where men and women alike are arbiters of fear, and where revenge is sometimes sweetest when delivered from the grave.
Dr Intan Paramaditha is an Indonesian fiction author and a lecturer in media and film studies at Macquarie University, Sydney. She received her PhD from New York University (2014). Both her fiction and academic works explore the intersection between gender and sexuality, culture, and politics. She is the author of the novel Gentayangan: Pilih Sendiri Petualangan Sepatu Merahmu (The Wandering: Choose Your Own Red-Shoes Adventure, 2017) and two collections of short stories: Sihir Perempuan (Black Magic Woman, 2005) and Kumpulan Budak Setan (The Devil’s Slaves Club, 2010, with Eka Kurniawan and Ugoran Prasad). Intan received the 2013Kompas Best Short Story Award and 2017 Tempo Best Literary Work for Prose Fiction for the novel Gentayangan. Her story collection Sihir Perempuan was shortlisted for the 2005 Khatulistiwa Literary Award. In 2011-2012 she collaborated with Teater Garasi in adapting her short story, “Goyang Penasaran” (Obsessive Twist), for a stage play. Harvill Secker (Vintage/ Penguin Random House group) will be publishing Apple and Knife (2019) and Gentayangan/The Wandering (2020) in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries.
Dr Lily Yulianti Farid is an Indonesian journalist, communication specialist, researcher and literary author. She is the founder and director of the Makassar International Writers Festival. She completed her PhD at the School of Social and Political Science, The University of Melbourne, in 2015.
The event is supported by Brow Books and the Indonesia Forum and the Asia Institute of The University of Melbourne.
RSVP to edwin.jurriens@unimelb.edu.au
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