Reading Indonesia

Student Hijau (Green Student), Mas Marco Kartodikromo’s 1917 story of a young man from Solo sent to study in the Netherlands, was being read aloud, plainly and simply, one breezy afternoon at Theater Salihara as part of Gerakan Indonesia Membaca Sastra (GIMS).

Ayu Utami said the inspiration for GIMS came after seeing so many of her friends meeting and discussing literature; “It first started at a café. There are people who like hanging out at cafés and they like reading.”

She decided to put those hours of literary passion to good use and created GIMS, a movement for those who want to read literature with others and an effort to inspire others to do the same. GIMS is open to anyone who wants to contribute with their voice and a half an hour or so of their time.

As part of the International Literary Biennale at Theater Salihara recently, GIMS held readings of classic works of Indonesian literature like Student Hijau to coincide with the event’s “Klasik nan Asyik” (Exciting Classics) theme.

GIMS’ focus on classic works has presented some unique snags. One GIMS participant, Ati, who was at Salihara reading chapters from Student Hijau, said she had joined GIMS meetings three times, and that the first work they ready, Drama di Boven Digul, “was long and the language difficult.”

With certain language difficulties arise also points for discussion. On Drama di Boven Digul, Ayu said, “It’s biased … It’s interesting … [But what] I want is to have discussions. We can discuss the racial and gender biases.”

But, GIMS may also become something beyond just meetings of book lovers. “Next year I want to have an audiobook competition for schoolchildren, each school will create their own audiobooks and have a contest,” Ayu said.

She said GIMS is intended to be “a social movement first, not commercial at all.” Upcoming gatherings are posted almost exclusively on Twitter, the meetings intentionally informal.

“What is important is that people start reading.”