Bali: To Be Taken Quite Literally

(5/6/2012)

The 2nd Bali Emerging Writers Festival (BEWF) returns May 25 – 27, 2012 to Serambi Arts Antida – an alternative art space located in Denpasar, Bali.

Presented by the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival as a prelude to their internationally acclaimed festival, the Bali Emerging Writers Festival aspires to become the country's largest gathering of young and dynamic writers, featuring new and traditional forms of writing from blogging and poetry, to spoken word, hip hop, journalism and conventional prose. 

This year’s line-up includes Roby Navicula, rock star cum eco-warrior and farmer; Pande Putu Setiawan, author and founder of Anak Alam - a foundation working to bring education to underprivileged children in remote villages; award-winning documentary filmmaker Dwitra J Ariana; video-art creator Ridwan Rudianto; graphic designer and internet literacy activist Saylow Alrite and photo-journalist Anggara Mahendra.

Established authors coming to Ubud for the May event include Saut Poltak Tambunan, award-winning poet Acep Zamzam Noor and Bali's own Cok Sawitri.

Festival Founder and Director Janet De Neefe, said: “A literary festival that specifically targets young writers and readers is quite a rarity in this country and we see BEWF as a testimony of our commitment to support and promote creative young Indonesians.” 

BEWF will also feature a Community Day, during which idea-driven, youth-backed organizations will share their dreams and passions, including movie screenings featuring the works of the island's best young filmmakers.

Anom Darsana, the founder of Serambi and an accomplished sound engineer, has rallied several local bands to provide three consecutive nights of music while two local literary communities, Denpasar’s Sahaja and Singaraja’s Mahima, will perform theatrical piece and musical interpretation of poetry.

Kadek Purnami the development manager of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), added: “We are trying to present as diverse and colorful voices as possible. These young writers, some who write with words, others with lights and images, will take the audience into the kaleidoscopic world of the contemporary Bali."

The BEWF program is free to the public in keeping with the UWRF aims to bridge the gap between established and emerging writers by providing an essential link that enables young people to confidently enter the global literary arena with established writers providing necessary advice gleaned from years in the industry.