•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

When the organizers of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival invited up-and-coming Indonesian writers to apply for a chance to speak at the event, Nelden Djakababa submitted several short stories. After all, the 37-year-old psychologist and writer has been regularly attending the yearly festival since 2006 and always thought of it as the “highlight of the year.”

Nelden’s application stood out, and she was selected by the festival team — along with 14 other writers — to participate in panel discussions, speak in public and help run workshops at the festival, which will take place from Oct. 7 -11.

“It is such a unique event and you can meet writers whose books you have actually read,” she said.

Nelden said she is looking forward to meeting British novelist Hari Kunzru, author of “The Impressionist” and “Transmission,” and Indian writer and diplomat Vikas Swarup, whose novel “Q&A” was adapted for the 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire.”

But it is not just the excitement of meeting the authors she admires that excites Nelden.

“When you are a writer yourself, being at this event can feel like being in a support group because writing is such a lonely process,” she said.

“Mostly, you do everything on your own. At some stages you might discuss things with other people, but for the most part with writing, you are by yourself.

“So when there is an opportunity to get together with others who are struggling with the same things, you will probably feel a lot better.

“Another thing that will be interesting for me is that this year I can come in from a different angle,” she added. “Because this time, I will be actively taking part in the panel discussions, sitting in front of the audience rather than with them, which will literally give me a different point of view. I am sure I will learn a lot.”

Nelden said that the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival has also helped local writers gain international recognition.

“The festival is linked to other festivals in the region, so it plays a very important role in putting Indonesia on the literary map,” she shared.

As part of her participation at the festival, Nelden will help run a workshop for children on poetry and music together with Debra Yatim, a noted Indonesian activist, journalist and movie and documentary filmmaker. The workshop is one of several designed to serve the community and will be free for local school children, she said.

Nelden has had plenty of experience as a writer. She been writing since high school.

“It’s just something I have to do,” she said.

“When I studied psychology at University of Indonesia after high school and then became a psychologist, I still took time for my writing because it helps me to balance things. It’s not only that I like to write, I’d say that I need to write, even if it is only writing in my journal.”

These days, aside from her writing, Nelden both works as a psychologist and takes care of her family’s business — a resort on the island of Sumba.

“I work with Yayasan Pulih [Recovery Foundation], a local organization that focuses on trauma recovery and community-based psychosocial intervention,” Nelden said.

She is also currently doing her PhD at the University of Amsterdam on this subject.

“There are many different kinds of trauma, the most common is trauma caused by domestic violence,” Nelden said.

“Then there are cases of child abuse and special cases, like the tsunami in Aceh and terrorist attacks. After the bombings in Jakarta in July, we provided psychological assistance to the survivors.”

Even before she started to work with Yayasan Pulih and shifted her focus on trauma recovery, Nelden was interested in the connection between psychology and culture.

“I always wanted to find a way to make psychology, this Western-based discipline, more relevant for Indonesians,” she said.

“And Indonesia itself has so many different cultures. For example, I can’t take the same approach I used in Ambon for the people in Aceh.”

To take her mind off her sometimes emotionally exhausting and difficult work, Nelden writes. Inevitably her stories are quite often related to her work as a psychologist.

“At least, that’s what many of my friends say when they read them, even though I might do it unconsciously,” she said.

A number of Nelden’s literary works, which are mainly short stories, have already been published in local newspapers and magazines.

Some of her stories cover historical events, such as the Santa Cruz massacre in East Timor, or the terrorist attacks in Indonesia in recent years.

But these incidents only provide the setting or the background. In her stories Nelden focuses on the consequences of these events for ordinary people.

“I could, for example, write about one of the innocent victims, or maybe even focus on someone who saw the news on TV and how it affects that person,” she said.

Lily Farid, one of the five organizers of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2009, said that the first word that came to mind when she read Nelden’s stories was “unique.”

“Nelden uses a promising approach to her stories and topics,” said Lily, who herself writes short stories and was one of the 15 Indonesian writers invited to speak at the festival last year.

“[Nelden] writes about negotiating cultural experiences and puts them into an urban and global context. She is a very skilled writer who explores the aesthetics of the language,” Lily said

Nelden said that many of her future plans are centered on her love for the written word.

“I have been wanting to publish a compilation of my short stories for a long time,” she said.

“I hope it will finally happen in 2010. I would also like to write a novel one day. I already have some ideas in my head, but still need to find the right time for it.”

Nelden at the festival:
Oct. 9: Music and Poetry Workshop for Children (Nelden Djakababa and Debra Yatim)
Oct. 10: In Conversation (NH Dini, Nelden Djakababa, Desi Anwar)
Panel Discussion: Across genres — Identity, family and place (Nelden Djakababa, Lee Su Kim, Inggit Putria Marga, Wena Poon and Janet Steele)
Oct. 11: Panel Discussion: Political Solidarity and Poetic Compassion — Literature and Activism (Nelden Djakababa, Max Lane, Shoes Robson, Michael Mabwe, Arnold Zable and Lily Farid)

For more information:
Tel. 0361 780 8932.
www.ubudwritersfestival.com