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Translating Feminisms
Deviant Disciples: Indonesian Women Poets
Deviant Disciples features five prominent Indonesian women poets of different generations and cultural backgrounds. Their work demonstrates the powerful ways in which feminist resistance has been articulated in the non-Western World: playful or angry, and always fearless.
Edited by writer Intan Paramaditha and translated by Elisa Vitri Handayani, Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Tiffany Tsao, this chapbook collects poems by the legendary poet and philosophy professor Toeti Heraty as well as work by Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah Djohar, showcasing women poets who use language as a tool to critique, reinterpret, and disobey.
Translating Feminisms showcases intimate collaborations between some of Asia's most exciting women and nonbinary writers and translators: contemporary poetry of bodies, labour and language, alongside essays exploring questions such as, 'Does feminism translate?'.
As part of Tilted Axis's wider project of decolonisation through and of translation, and in response to seeing WoC authors' work misread through a white feminist lens, we want to re-imagine the possibilities of a fully intersectional, international feminism, and ensure authors have the creative agency to contextualise their own work.
Edited by writer Intan Paramaditha and translated by Elisa Vitri Handayani, Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Tiffany Tsao, this chapbook collects poems by the legendary poet and philosophy professor Toeti Heraty as well as work by Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah Djohar, showcasing women poets who use language as a tool to critique, reinterpret, and disobey.
Translating Feminisms showcases intimate collaborations between some of Asia's most exciting women and nonbinary writers and translators: contemporary poetry of bodies, labour and language, alongside essays exploring questions such as, 'Does feminism translate?'.
As part of Tilted Axis's wider project of decolonisation through and of translation, and in response to seeing WoC authors' work misread through a white feminist lens, we want to re-imagine the possibilities of a fully intersectional, international feminism, and ensure authors have the creative agency to contextualise their own work.
62 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2020
About the author
Intan Paramaditha
18 books143 followersIntan Paramaditha menulis buku Sihir Perempuan, kumpulan cerita pendek yang masuk lima besar Khatulistiwa Literary Award pada tahun 2005; Kumpulan Budak Setan (2010), sebuah tribut untuk penulis horor Abdullah Harahap yang ditulis bersama Eka Kurniawan dan Ugoran Prasad; naskah drama Goyang Penasaran (Intan Paramaditha & Naomi Srikandi, ed, KPG 2013), diadaptasi dari cerpennya dan dipentaskan oleh Teater Garasi di Yogyakarta dan Teater Salihara, Jakarta. Ia mendapat penghargaan sebagai cerpenis terbaik Kompas 2013 lewat cerpen "Klub Solidaritas Suami Hilang." Pada tahun 2017 ia menerbitkan Gentayangan: Pilih Sendiri Petualangan Sepatu Merahmu, novel dengan alur beragam yang terpilih sebagai karya sastra bidang prosa terbaik pilihan Tempo 2017. Karyanya telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggris dan diterbitkan Harvill Secker (Penguin Random House UK) dengan judul Apple and Knife dan The Wandering.
Intan Paramaditha juga seorang akademisi, banyak menulis tentang gender dan seksualitas serta kajian budaya, khususnya film. Ia mendapat gelar doktor dalam bidang Kajian Sinema dari New York University setelah sebelumnya mendalami sastra Inggris di Universitas Indonesia dan University of California San Diego. Saat ini ia tinggal di Sydney dan mengajar Kajian Media dan Film di Macquarie University.
Intan Paramaditha juga seorang akademisi, banyak menulis tentang gender dan seksualitas serta kajian budaya, khususnya film. Ia mendapat gelar doktor dalam bidang Kajian Sinema dari New York University setelah sebelumnya mendalami sastra Inggris di Universitas Indonesia dan University of California San Diego. Saat ini ia tinggal di Sydney dan mengajar Kajian Media dan Film di Macquarie University.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 5, 2022
Deviant Disciples features five prominent Indonesian women poets of different generations and cultural backgrounds. Their work demonstrates the powerful ways in which feminist resistance has been articulated in the non-Western World: playful or angry, and always fearless.
Edited by writer Intan Paramaditha and translated by Elisa Vitri Handayani, Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Tiffany Tsao, this chapbook collects poems by the legendary poet and philosophy professor Toeti Heraty as well as work by Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah Djohar, showcasing women poets who use language as a tool to critique, reinterpret, and disobey.
Translating Feminisms showcases intimate collaborations between some of Asia's most exciting women and nonbinary writers and translators: contemporary poetry of bodies, labour and language, alongside essays exploring questions such as, 'Does feminism translate?'.
As part of Tilted Axis's wider project of decolonisation through and of translation, and in response to seeing works from female writers of color misread through a white feminist lens, Tilted Axis wants to re-imagine the possibilities of a fully intersectional, international feminism, and ensure authors have the creative agency to contextualise their own work.
The title “Deviant Disciples” is taken from Toeti Heraty’s poem, “Entreating the Goddess Durga”, excerpted from her longer prose poem Calon Arang: A Sacrificial Victim of the Patriarchy. A rewriting of the Balinese story with a feminist framework, Heraty’s Calon Arang can be seen as a representative of the bold and rebellious ways in which Indonesian woman poets use words to challenge patriarchal language, religion, and culture.
The phrase “Deviant Disciples” is used to highlight collaboration and exchange of knowledge among women to interrogate power structures. Calon Arang teaches and organises, and her relationship with her disciples expose another kind of terror: the fear of subversive potentials when women unite, collaborate, and transfer their knowledge to other women.
By rewriting the myth of Calon Arang through a feminist lens, Toeti Heraty explores the difficulty of being an old widow in the Balinese/Indonesian society. Linking the legend to contemporary gender politics, Calon Arang underlines how patriarchal power, represented by the king and the priest in the story, is threatened by the presence of a powerful woman. This excerpt really peaked my interest and makes me want to seek out the full-length poem sometime in the future.
Dorothea Rosa Herliany, the second poet featured in this collection, has already published a poetry collection in 2007. She is best known for violating grammatical conventions. In her poems, she speaks of desire and pleasure through dark imagery:
Zubaidah Djohar speaks about transformation in Aceh, the implementation of shariah law and the marginalisation of women due to politics and religious practice. Her poems are often based on actual events, written in a poignant and straight-forward manner, and she often proposes an interpretation of Islamic texts to challenge the dominant patriarchal narrative.
In “In The Land of 7000 Skirts, I,” Djohar criticises the policy in West Aceh to give 7000 skirts to police women’s bodies by making sure that women dress modestly to avoid sexual violence: “the skirts you put on us / have thorns all over / now they are smudged with women’s blood / our blood”.
In “Siti Khalwat,” she writes about the abuse of a woman accused of having extra-marital sex under the sharia law: “they cast me out to a soccer field / (but isn’t it a garden of Eden / for them, the hundred of eyes corralling, / as I am the Eve, as I am the utterly naked one)”.
In a climate that gives birth to witch-hunting and self-righteousness, women suffer the most as their bodies are vilified, tortured, and humiliated.
The last poet featured in this collection is Hanna Fransisca, who explores Chinese-Indonesian identity and the violence of the Indonesian state through unusual, often disturbing imagery. In “May Poem,” we are immediately reminded of the May 1998 riot, in which many Chinese women became victims of rape and murder.
All in all, Deviant Disciples is a wonderfully subversive and challenging collection of five feminist poets. It was a pleasure to read and truly eye-opening at times. It is my first book written by Indonesian writers but it certainly won't be my last! I have so much too learn but this poetry collection was a great way of dipping my toe into contemporary discourses surrounding woman issues in Indonesia. Highly recommend this collection and checking out everything else that Tilted Axis Press has to offer. They are truly doing the Lord's work!
Edited by writer Intan Paramaditha and translated by Elisa Vitri Handayani, Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Tiffany Tsao, this chapbook collects poems by the legendary poet and philosophy professor Toeti Heraty as well as work by Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah Djohar, showcasing women poets who use language as a tool to critique, reinterpret, and disobey.
Translating Feminisms showcases intimate collaborations between some of Asia's most exciting women and nonbinary writers and translators: contemporary poetry of bodies, labour and language, alongside essays exploring questions such as, 'Does feminism translate?'.
As part of Tilted Axis's wider project of decolonisation through and of translation, and in response to seeing works from female writers of color misread through a white feminist lens, Tilted Axis wants to re-imagine the possibilities of a fully intersectional, international feminism, and ensure authors have the creative agency to contextualise their own work.
The title “Deviant Disciples” is taken from Toeti Heraty’s poem, “Entreating the Goddess Durga”, excerpted from her longer prose poem Calon Arang: A Sacrificial Victim of the Patriarchy. A rewriting of the Balinese story with a feminist framework, Heraty’s Calon Arang can be seen as a representative of the bold and rebellious ways in which Indonesian woman poets use words to challenge patriarchal language, religion, and culture.
The phrase “Deviant Disciples” is used to highlight collaboration and exchange of knowledge among women to interrogate power structures. Calon Arang teaches and organises, and her relationship with her disciples expose another kind of terror: the fear of subversive potentials when women unite, collaborate, and transfer their knowledge to other women.
By rewriting the myth of Calon Arang through a feminist lens, Toeti Heraty explores the difficulty of being an old widow in the Balinese/Indonesian society. Linking the legend to contemporary gender politics, Calon Arang underlines how patriarchal power, represented by the king and the priest in the story, is threatened by the presence of a powerful woman. This excerpt really peaked my interest and makes me want to seek out the full-length poem sometime in the future.
Dorothea Rosa Herliany, the second poet featured in this collection, has already published a poetry collection in 2007. She is best known for violating grammatical conventions. In her poems, she speaks of desire and pleasure through dark imagery:
“give me all things that men don’t own / oh, not heaven, though!”Herliany attacks myths of feminine purity and loyalty and challenges the Suharto ideology of Ibu-ism (mother-ism), which emphasises women’s subservient qualities as mothers and wives. Even though these poems weren't my favorite stylistically speaking, I still appreciated that they were included in this collection.
Zubaidah Djohar speaks about transformation in Aceh, the implementation of shariah law and the marginalisation of women due to politics and religious practice. Her poems are often based on actual events, written in a poignant and straight-forward manner, and she often proposes an interpretation of Islamic texts to challenge the dominant patriarchal narrative.
In “In The Land of 7000 Skirts, I,” Djohar criticises the policy in West Aceh to give 7000 skirts to police women’s bodies by making sure that women dress modestly to avoid sexual violence: “the skirts you put on us / have thorns all over / now they are smudged with women’s blood / our blood”.
In “Siti Khalwat,” she writes about the abuse of a woman accused of having extra-marital sex under the sharia law: “they cast me out to a soccer field / (but isn’t it a garden of Eden / for them, the hundred of eyes corralling, / as I am the Eve, as I am the utterly naked one)”.
In a climate that gives birth to witch-hunting and self-righteousness, women suffer the most as their bodies are vilified, tortured, and humiliated.
my body is not a marker of sinThe link between body and politics is also explored by poet Shinta Febriany. In “open body,” she alludes to the figure of Mary Magdalene and her seven demons to speak about the vilification of women who do not fit societal expectations. Febriany problematises how the society easily judges and marks certain (female bodies) as dirty and sinful.
The last poet featured in this collection is Hanna Fransisca, who explores Chinese-Indonesian identity and the violence of the Indonesian state through unusual, often disturbing imagery. In “May Poem,” we are immediately reminded of the May 1998 riot, in which many Chinese women became victims of rape and murder.
All in all, Deviant Disciples is a wonderfully subversive and challenging collection of five feminist poets. It was a pleasure to read and truly eye-opening at times. It is my first book written by Indonesian writers but it certainly won't be my last! I have so much too learn but this poetry collection was a great way of dipping my toe into contemporary discourses surrounding woman issues in Indonesia. Highly recommend this collection and checking out everything else that Tilted Axis Press has to offer. They are truly doing the Lord's work!
August 13, 2022
In a world dominated by men, sometimes I ask myself, how do we resist? How do we express our anger and sadness? Women have a little space to exist, let alone to feel or speak out mind. Yet, despite the little space we have, women are resisting—as it shows in this collection of poems.
Deviant Disciples (edited by Intan Paramaditha) is a part of Translating Feminisms series initiated by Tilted Axis Press. This chapbook features five Indonesian prominent women poets; Zubaidah Djohar, Shinta Febriany, Hanna Fransisca, Toeti Heraty, and Dorothea Rose Herliany. And translated by Tiffany Tsao, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, and Eliza Vitri Handayani.
Each poems are a tool of feminist resistance. They criticize and challenge the patriarchal society and practice. They're voicing the urgency that we all should giving more space and hear those who can't (and are not allowed to) speak.
My most favorite poem is Here on the Land of 7000 skirts, I by Zubaidah Djohar (trans. by Norman Erikson Pasaribu). It's a form of critique the policy in West Aceh, in which the government distributed 7000 skirts to women because they're not allowed to wear trousers.
Some of the poems, like Zubaidah Djohar's and Shinta Febriany's nightmare of the state, were based on actual event. Personally, this further helped me understand the matter more delicately—as I wasn't born when the event took place (Reformasi, for example) or I was still too young to understand. It's always amaze me how art can contribute so much to a conversation about historical events and social issues.
It's also refreshing to read Kak Tiffany Tsao's translation and she can capture the voice Toeti Heraty and Dorothea Rosa Herliany perfectly. Kudos!
Deviant Disciples (edited by Intan Paramaditha) is a part of Translating Feminisms series initiated by Tilted Axis Press. This chapbook features five Indonesian prominent women poets; Zubaidah Djohar, Shinta Febriany, Hanna Fransisca, Toeti Heraty, and Dorothea Rose Herliany. And translated by Tiffany Tsao, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, and Eliza Vitri Handayani.
Each poems are a tool of feminist resistance. They criticize and challenge the patriarchal society and practice. They're voicing the urgency that we all should giving more space and hear those who can't (and are not allowed to) speak.
My most favorite poem is Here on the Land of 7000 skirts, I by Zubaidah Djohar (trans. by Norman Erikson Pasaribu). It's a form of critique the policy in West Aceh, in which the government distributed 7000 skirts to women because they're not allowed to wear trousers.
Some of the poems, like Zubaidah Djohar's and Shinta Febriany's nightmare of the state, were based on actual event. Personally, this further helped me understand the matter more delicately—as I wasn't born when the event took place (Reformasi, for example) or I was still too young to understand. It's always amaze me how art can contribute so much to a conversation about historical events and social issues.
It's also refreshing to read Kak Tiffany Tsao's translation and she can capture the voice Toeti Heraty and Dorothea Rosa Herliany perfectly. Kudos!
September 17, 2021
'A widowed woman is one no longer beloved
between a love-struck virgin, and a weeping wife bereft
is a cliff of disparity---a widow'
From ' Entreating the Goddess Durga' by Toeti Heraty
This poetry chap book, printed by Tilted Axis Press, that features 5 prominent Indonesian female poets, packs a firm punch. The poets selected vary in age and cultural background, which reflects in the diverse themes of the poetry.
Whether folklore is at play, the female punished under Sharia law or the young women who is considered fresh meat on a Taiwanese street, you sense both the power & vulnerability of the women in contrast with the injustice of society patriarchal norms.
Wanted to keep reading. Great poetry collection.
between a love-struck virgin, and a weeping wife bereft
is a cliff of disparity---a widow'
From ' Entreating the Goddess Durga' by Toeti Heraty
This poetry chap book, printed by Tilted Axis Press, that features 5 prominent Indonesian female poets, packs a firm punch. The poets selected vary in age and cultural background, which reflects in the diverse themes of the poetry.
Whether folklore is at play, the female punished under Sharia law or the young women who is considered fresh meat on a Taiwanese street, you sense both the power & vulnerability of the women in contrast with the injustice of society patriarchal norms.
Wanted to keep reading. Great poetry collection.
April 10, 2024
Favorite poems:
- a middle-aged ballad by toeti heraty (translated by tiffany tsao)
- marriage of the knife by dorothea rosa herliany (translated by tiffany tsao)
- open body by shinta febriany (translated by eliza vitri handayani)
Mma read the original indonesian versions
- a middle-aged ballad by toeti heraty (translated by tiffany tsao)
- marriage of the knife by dorothea rosa herliany (translated by tiffany tsao)
- open body by shinta febriany (translated by eliza vitri handayani)
Mma read the original indonesian versions
June 25, 2021
This review is taken from my IG bookstagram @descanto
For centuries, most parts of the world as well as most aspects in our life are dominated by men. And these practices of masculine domination work in the most unconscious ways and circling around our everyday life. The society we are living in favours men and leaves only small spaces for women.
Do you know the saddest chapter of all? A lamentable fact? Women should empower each other. Yet that small and tiny spaces left are filled with women who compete to each other. They rob, they stab, they take over other women’s platform. Homo homini lupus, they say in the old Latin proverb; referring to a man who becomes a wolf to another man - well, women in this case.
So what to do? Who to blame?
Then come this chapbook of poems. Five prominent Indonesian writers: Toeti Heraty (may she rest in peace), Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah, lend their voice to sing the unheard song from other women in the society. They do not only criticise, reinterpret, question but also challenge the society they are living in through each line they write in their poems.
What I do love the most here is (1) the fact that all poems are written from the women perspectives. (2) these poems also deconstruct the myth about women. Through the allegories, they offer different perspectives to see those myths. In Toeti Heraty’s Entreating the Goddess Durga which tells the story about the Balinese/Indonesian old widow, Calon Arang, a so-considered devilish woman who causes the plague in the whole kingdom. Or in Sinta’s Elegy which sees the Indian epos Ramayana from the perspectives of SInta and her lamentation towards her cowardice husband who does not even trust her completely and has a doubt on her purity! These women are powerful so the society feels the urge to put them down! the simple reason: they are women!
This chapbook is really a journey and a reflective guideline that one should read. Simply to understand the importances of standing and giving voices to those women who are silenced and who cannot speak!
For centuries, most parts of the world as well as most aspects in our life are dominated by men. And these practices of masculine domination work in the most unconscious ways and circling around our everyday life. The society we are living in favours men and leaves only small spaces for women.
Do you know the saddest chapter of all? A lamentable fact? Women should empower each other. Yet that small and tiny spaces left are filled with women who compete to each other. They rob, they stab, they take over other women’s platform. Homo homini lupus, they say in the old Latin proverb; referring to a man who becomes a wolf to another man - well, women in this case.
So what to do? Who to blame?
Then come this chapbook of poems. Five prominent Indonesian writers: Toeti Heraty (may she rest in peace), Shinta Febriany, Dorothea Rosa Herliany, Hanna Fransisca and Zubaidah, lend their voice to sing the unheard song from other women in the society. They do not only criticise, reinterpret, question but also challenge the society they are living in through each line they write in their poems.
What I do love the most here is (1) the fact that all poems are written from the women perspectives. (2) these poems also deconstruct the myth about women. Through the allegories, they offer different perspectives to see those myths. In Toeti Heraty’s Entreating the Goddess Durga which tells the story about the Balinese/Indonesian old widow, Calon Arang, a so-considered devilish woman who causes the plague in the whole kingdom. Or in Sinta’s Elegy which sees the Indian epos Ramayana from the perspectives of SInta and her lamentation towards her cowardice husband who does not even trust her completely and has a doubt on her purity! These women are powerful so the society feels the urge to put them down! the simple reason: they are women!
This chapbook is really a journey and a reflective guideline that one should read. Simply to understand the importances of standing and giving voices to those women who are silenced and who cannot speak!
September 13, 2021
Deviant Disciples is part of @tiltedaxispress Translating Feminism chapbook series and features five Indonesian women poets and excerpts of their work.
First we are introduced to Toeti Heraty who takes a feminist approach to the myth of Calon Arang, who was a powerful witch who lived in 11th century Indonesia.
Second we have Dorothea Rosa Herliany who grew up under the Suharto regime, as she "violates grammatical conventions" and attacks myths about feminine purity.
Then we have Zubaidah Djohar who draws on real events in Aceh and challenges the patriarchal interpretations of Islamic texts and marginalisation of women under the shariah law.
The fourth is Shinta Febriany who examines how society easily judges and marks female bodies.
And the final poet is Hanna Frasiscsa who explored Chinese-Indonesian identity and the violence of the Indonesian state.
Overall it's a really powerful collection of poetry with strong feminist themes that I really appreciated. The introduction from Intan Paramaditha helped me understand the context of the poems and the writers and really rounded out my reading experience especially as I'm often nervous I won't understand poetry.
First we are introduced to Toeti Heraty who takes a feminist approach to the myth of Calon Arang, who was a powerful witch who lived in 11th century Indonesia.
Second we have Dorothea Rosa Herliany who grew up under the Suharto regime, as she "violates grammatical conventions" and attacks myths about feminine purity.
Then we have Zubaidah Djohar who draws on real events in Aceh and challenges the patriarchal interpretations of Islamic texts and marginalisation of women under the shariah law.
The fourth is Shinta Febriany who examines how society easily judges and marks female bodies.
And the final poet is Hanna Frasiscsa who explored Chinese-Indonesian identity and the violence of the Indonesian state.
Overall it's a really powerful collection of poetry with strong feminist themes that I really appreciated. The introduction from Intan Paramaditha helped me understand the context of the poems and the writers and really rounded out my reading experience especially as I'm often nervous I won't understand poetry.
May 29, 2021
Can't say I have a good grasp of what the poems were trying to express. The preface introducing the background of all the poets featured is very helpful. Do not skip it. I'm interested in checking out other chapbooks in the same series.
February 4, 2021
When all the excellent poets & translators met a great editor yassss!
September 20, 2022
this was a Vry interesting and educational collaboration of poets and translators for me happy I read this
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews