Ubud Readers & Writers Festival starts today

On Thursday, children’s workshops will kick off the third Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, held before the official opening Friday evening, after which participants will pay tribute to the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who was widely regarded as Indonesia’s leading writer.

Famed writers are trooping into the picturesque, tourist village, along with emerging poets and authors — the creative bunch who contribute to our joys of reading and watching movies.

Following on from previous years, the organizers have promised not only talks and public readings with authors from various countries, but also the chance to benefit from their valuable guidance. There is even a workshop on how to market your first book, be it a work of fiction or a book on travel or cooking.

Hopefully more locals will attend this year’s event, initially held as an attempt to “heal the wounds” after the bombings of 2002. The second terror attack on Bali did not stop the writers from gathering for the event last year.

For it is the country hosts themselves, the Indonesians, who are notoriously loathe — not to put down a book — but to pick one up, let alone write one. The local writers featured at the Ubud festival will hopefully inspire even those among us who think that putting words on paper is a terrifying prospect.

The comfortable excuse that ours is basically an oral, not written, tradition is starting to sound lame as teen-lit books penned by young Indonesians pile up on store shelves — however incomprehensible they may seem to adults. Youngsters also plow through 400 pages of Harry Potter in a few days, and remain glued to PCs, updating their blogs.

They are convinced they have something to share, for a few e-mails or a few minutes of chatting has proved someone out there is interested, regardless of the billions of words put out by professional writers each day. The young are undaunted by great authors like Pramoedya, and although this might make their elders wince, one unashamedly said she wrote her first book and her second, without so much as touching the abridged works of Shakespeare.

We have plenty to blame on the idea that writing belongs only to the sages as in the days of old. Improving school curricula has been a slow process and the rote system of learning is still predominant. The need for propaganda, mainly to ensure students grasped the official version of history, edged out the teaching of literature.

The results: Engage students in a writing contest and they will shake their heads. Announce a coloring competition and you easily get 100 participants, not all very young, who will willingly pay to join.

To overcome this chronic ailment dedicated individuals and organizations have sporadically held literary events, set up “writing schools” or neighborhood libraries; a few foundations have even been established for “talent scouting” and to issue literary awards.

But such events and attempts can never be too many; Ubud festivals are needed everywhere to inspire many more local writers.

For let us face it — we love parties, food and crowds — not noiseless libraries.