Seno Gumira Ajidarma and the writing of urban space in Indonesia

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This paper considers the work of one of Indonesia’s most prominent contemporary writers, Seno Gumira Ajidarma. In this paper, I look at how Seno’s writing over the last 30 years traces and documents changes in contemporary Indonesian urban societies – and particularly that of Jakarta. This paper considers the importance and relevance of the notion of the urban based flâneur and whether or not the flâneur and the practice of flânerie is part of literary imaginings in contemporary Indonesia. I ask whether or not to be a flâneur and to practice flânerie is a critical social act which questions formal constructions and usages of urban space. This paper looks at the ways in which the practices of listening, hearing, looking and writing are invoked in selected novels, short stories and essays of Seno Gumira Ajidarma.

Andy Fuller completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania in 2010. He is currently based at Freedom Institute in Jakarta and is also working as a researcher at The University of Melbourne.