Bali Today! (9780804859486)

The "Real Bali" is not what you think.

Bali Today! collects over 100 essays and stories drawn from the English Corner column of the Bali Post, offering an unfiltered look at everyday life on the Island of the Gods. Jean Couteau, a leading cultural authority on Bali, writes with a wry, observant eye on village life, courtship rituals, religion, family, and the tensions between Balinese tradition and the modern world. Contributors include local and foreign voices: Wayan Sadha, Benito Lopulalan, and Usadi Wiryatnaya, among others.

Illustrated throughout with cartoons by Wayan Sadha, one of Bali's most beloved caricaturists, and introduced by two leading writers on Indonesia, Goenawan Mohamad and Made Wijaya, this is an candid, ground-level portrait of Balinese society rarely seen in conventional travel or cultural writing. ?


About the Author:
Jean Couteau, a leading cultural authority on Bali, co-founded the magazine Archipelago and curated the English Corner column in the Bali Post for many years. He contributes essays to major media outlets and writes regularly for Kompas. Couteau has written many books about major Indonesian artists as well as on the Agung Rai and Puri Lukisan art museums in Ubud.

Wayan Sadha began drawing for fun and was later hired to illustrate Archipelago magazine and the local Bali Post English Corner column. Wayan Sadha's cartoons feature the common people of Bali, and he developed a sort of cult following on Bali as a result.

Goenawan Mohamad is an Indonesian poet, essayist, journalist, playwright, editor, and public intellectual. He is the founder and editor of Indonesia's leading news magazine, Tempo, and has often been a vocal critic of the Indonesian government throughout his long career. He is the author of many books on Indonesian society including Seks, Sastra, Kita (Sex, Literature, Us) (1980), Literature and Power (1993), Setelah Revolusi Tak Ada Lagi (Once the Revolution No Longer Exists) (2001), and Tuhan dan Hal-hal Yang Tak Selesai (God and Other Unfinished Things) (2007).

Made Wijaya (1953-2016) was a world-renowned writer and designer based in Bali for over 40 years. He was one of the island's most flamboyant, larger-than-life characters and variously worked as a tennis coach, artist, designer, photographer, gardener, historian, journalist, satirist, diarist, anthropologist, and much more. His books include Architecture of Bali: A Source Book of Traditional and Modern Forms (2002) and Tropical Garden Design (2004).