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Contributor

John H. McGlynn

Contributor

John H. McGlynn

John H. McGlynn, a graduate of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor (1981), lives in Jakarta where, in 1987, he and four Indonesian authors established the Lontar  Foundation, the only organization in the world devoted to the publication of Indonesian literature in translation. As the translator of several dozen publications, he has garnered  much international praise for his work. Through Lontar, McGlynn has ushered into print close to two hundred books on Indonesian literature and culture. Also through Lontar, he initiated the “On the Record” film documentation program, which thus far includes twenty-four films on Indonesian writers and more than thirty films on Indonesian performance traditions. 

McGlynn is the Indonesian country editor for Manoa, a literary journal published by  the University of Hawaii; and a contributing editor to Words Without Borders, Warscapes (two U.S. based literary journals), and Cordite Review, an Australian literary journal. He is a founding member of the Asia Pacific Writers and Translators Association and a member of the International Commission of the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI), PEN International-New York, and the Association of Asian Studies. McGlynn is also a  trustee of AMINEF, the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation, which oversees the (U.S. government-sponsored) Fulbright and Humphrey scholarship programs in Indonesia.

Articles by John H. McGlynn

The Prayer of the Flame that Sparked the Forest Fire
By M Aan Mansyur
Tell the sad stories to the sky.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Multilingual
Myth and History: Writing from Indonesia
By John H. McGlynn
In October of this year, Indonesia will make its appearance as the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair—the first country from Southeast Asia to be so honored.
writing you
By Taufik Ikram Jamil
. . . the letters are reluctant to sound out / voices i knew / voices i memorized
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
When
By Acep Zamzam Noor
I heard the singing and dancing / In the village square / Suddenly fall silent.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Road to Heaven
By Abidah El Khalieqy
When my mother died, her face changed. I was the first to notice. When other family members and friends came to pay their respects, what I saw in their eyes was doubt; none could believe that the deceased…
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
The Rooms Out Back
By Nenden Lilis A.
My husband and I always rise at 7:30 when the shadow of the cat crossing the tiled roof of our neighbor’s house forms a silhouette on our bedroom curtain. Who can figure out why that cat, without…
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Cik Giok
By Reda Gaudiamo
Don’t forget to send the ticket for Cik Giok so that she can come to Jakarta. Don’t forget to buy something for Cik Giok to wear . . .It was the planning meeting for my wedding. Why was Papa…
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
The Kitchen
By Lily Yulianti Farid
Ruth loved flour. Mother loved the kitchen. And I loved Ruth and Mother. I grew up at the large kitchen table, watching Ruth sift flour and mix various kinds of dough. I learned to walk while holding…
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Womb
By Cok Sawitri
My name is Nagari. Thirty years of age. There is no need to explain; I understand. . . . That evening, after my bath, my hair still wet, I heard a pounding on the door of my rented room. Three men had…
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn