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Legendary author Gol A Gong talks literacy and reminiscences
Best known for his iconic series Balada Si Roy (The Ballad of Roy), popular among teenagers in the late 1980s and early nineties, Indonesian author Gol A Gong is releasing his memoir.
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Iconic writer: Gol A Gong was one of Indonesia's most popular writers in the late eighties and early nineties. (Courtesy of Gol A Gong) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Gol A Gong)
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est known for his iconic work Balada Si Roy (The Ballad of Roy), a serialized coming-of-age novel that captured the angst of Indonesian teenagers in the late 1980s and early 90s, Indonesian author Gol A Gong is releasing his memoir - Gong Smash!: Dari Raket Ke Pena, Dari Lapangan Ke Petualangan (Gong Smash!: From a Racket to a Pen, From a Court to Adventures).
Portrait of the artist as a young man
While the book is set between Gol A Gong’s early years growing up in Serang and the publication of Balada Si Roy as a serial in the Hai youth magazine in 1987, its inception is based as much on the present as the past.
“I started to write Gong Smash! in early July, when the government’s PPKM [public activity restrictions] initially put the Literacy Safari on hold,” recalled the 58-year old, mentioning a literacy initiative he has established to spread literacy among Indonesians.
Gol A Gong is a pseudonym for his real name – Heri Hendrayana Harris. It developed as a play on the words “goal” and “gong”. The name is based on his parents’ wish that he made an impact.
“I published [Gong Smash!] with the independent publishing house Epigraf at a marathon pace, as I meant to launch the book on Aug. 15, which is my birthday.”
The book’s title Gong Smash! is both a pun on his pen name and a nod to his accomplishments as a badminton player.
