[Unpad.ac.id, 21/10/2013] Cultural Ambassador of the United States Department of State, Dr. Brenda Flanagan gave a talk at the discussion “Multiculturalism in and through Literature”, organized by the Department of Literary Studies, Faculty of Arts (FIB) Unpad on Monday (21/10) in the hall of Building D, FIB Unpad, Jatinangor.
Cultural Ambassador of the United States Department of State, Dr. Brenda Flanagan (Photo by: Arief Maulana)*
Dr. Flanagan, who grew up in Trinidad – a country in Caribbean, moved to the United States to study literature which had been her long time passion. During the study, she found out that there were many classical stories from all over the world, but not many people were interested in learning about them further. She then became a regular visitor to the library to study non canonical literature. Her cultural background and her strong will then led her to speak on behalf of the importance of African-American literature. One of which was to encourage the administrators at the university where she works as a member of teaching staff to establish an African-American studies department after 14 years of struggling.
One of her works, a short story titled “The Girl from Bahia,” was inspired by one of world classics. The story was interpreted by a famous Sundanese wood puppet character, Cepot, played entertainingly by Batara Sena -a Department of English Unpad alumnus- who now works as puppet master for Padepokan Giriharja, Bandung. Before the students and other participants, Dr. Flanagan encouraged them to write about their own culture, and to make Indonesian literature known in the world.
Answering one question from a participant on how to be confident in writing, Dr. Flanagan suggested that a group of peers to form a discussion group talking about each member’s piece which can be carried out casually. Expanding your reading is also important for a writer to help them improve their skills. Last but not least, publishing the work can start with posting it on blog to see how people think about your writing, and eventually it gives the idea whether your writing is publish-ready or not.
Dr. Flanagan also said about how it is necessary to write your own culture to build certain character of Indonesian literature. “Do not rely on and get carried away with American writing style. Write about Indonesia in Indonesian way,” said she.
