The Circumstances of Early Modern Indonesian Literature: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The focus this paper is the circumstances of early Modern Indonesian Literature. Literary works in Indonesia in that colonial period - as in the world literature in general - are not spontaneous but rather entail the creative process of the writer whose relationship with society is an ongoing one. Early Modern Indonesian Literature is a treasury of literature that appears from the certain socio-political situations. To understand early Modern Indonesian Literature proportionally, it is necessary to consider various matters which related to each other: between literary works, writer, and society. By understanding the interrelation between those three elements, we will attain a proper understanding to the general tendencies which in turn directs us to the understanding of the characteristics of such literature. In this short-essay, then, I try to explain the representation of the interrelation between those number of social facts; the beginning of the production and consumption of early Modern Indonesian Literature, the role of the writer and its relationship with journalism, the writers and the reading public, and the education and literacy situation in Indonesia.