UWRF 2011 / Books,
Booze and Boogie-Woogie in Bali
I’m typing this
on the balcony of The Honeymoon Guesthouse:
It
overlooks a grassy sea of paddie fields.
Above me there’s a swish of palm trees and the sun is setting, magenta, gently,
whilst I sip an ice cold Bintang beer. As I write this, my sense of smell is
invaded by frangipani, incense wafts from temple blessings and the moon is
gonna rise high and full tonight.
This morning I
was up at dawn, first light, I exhaled, inhaled this natural beauty, like I was
some Eat.Love.Pray moron. I drank black
tea and started writing poetry, meditating on the beauty of nature, inner peace
and my tranquil surroundings. Imagine, there I was counting my blessings,
admiring the creatures of the dawn, when I was attacked by a giant
electric-blue-black butterfly. I jumped up and ran screaming like an idiot
through the garden, shouting “fuckers going for my face….” So no, when you come
here you do not become suddenly enlightened, however, I must admit, you cannot
help but feel the world turning just a little more gently, a slow and steady
pace.
Of all the
literary gatherings I have been to, this has to be the friendliest and also the
broadest in terms of cultures and far flung nations. I have enjoyed performing
at Crossing Borders, Hay-On-Wye, Electric Picnic and Port Eliot etc...I fondly
remember all of these wicked events – And so Ubud writers and Readers Festival
its like that, but placed among paddie fields in a village, a small arts town
called Ubud in Bali.
This is a lush
country: We are in the colourful coconut life, your bikini is damp in your bag
with your signed books, your sunglasses are glued to your face. When you are
not hot-footing it or on bikes to different venues for lively debates, readings
and talks, you’ll spend your free hours in cafes, roadside shack BBQ’s and
ornate gardens, talking books, books, books all day and all night. This is the
place to meet writers from the four
corners of the world, to share ideas and to get inspired. Theres a fizz of
exchange, feedback, advice, publisher tips, a hullabaloo of creativity and a
lot of laughs too. You’ll quit giving out business cards and just swap books
instead. Here we have the greatest minds of this generation in flip flops and
sarongs, sucking noodles and Mango Daiquiries, or meandering through paddie fields and taking a breather.
Denpasar airport
was a buzzing 1950’s retro arrival lounge with hustlers and tourists queuing
for visas. There was an ominously clear sign stating that the death penalty is
enforced here. The drive to Ubud was long, thick with traffic, a million mopeds
and bicycles, a raucous ringing of bells and car horns. I felt like I’d been in
the sky for a week to get here, stopping over at Singapore and Perth
contributed to the arrival here taking on a dreamy quality, slipping out of my
London manic reality into this heat, this vivid paradise.
I stayed at The Pita Maha Hotel for the first five nights. It is perfect
for a honeymooning couple sure, but also great for a writer that rises with the
dawn everyday to write, watch sunrise and freak herself out with face-eating
butterflies. Once settled and unpacked, my first mission was to track down the
genius behind this festival and thank her, for her great big heart and
generosity, the awe inspiring Janet De Neefe. After months of emails and organisation I had to
find her to thank her: THANK YOU. What
a beautiful soul, its her warmth and energy in the centre of this event that
made this all come together and with so much style and grace too. We all love
her, and its easy to love her right away, she’s the real deal. She’s a woman of
so many talents, author, restauranteur, business woman, teacher, wife and
mother of four beautiful children, a community spirited super woman, not just
the local community but the global community of books and writers too, creating
a platform for Asian and Western writers and poets to meet. I noted that whenever I
mentioned the name, Janet, albeit to taxi drivers or tender bar boys, they’d smile and
say “Oh Janet, she’s good woman, all she done, for Bali, for Bali and
especially, all she do for Ubud, good woman…”
In fact all of
the organisers, volunteers and staff were brilliant, helpful, kind, Jeni Caffin
and Jane Fuller too. To paraphrase David Attenborough he said that in Ubud you will find “...the most
talented and friendliest people on Planet Earth.” And so its not just me that's picking up on this, he also said Bali is the most beautiful of all places too, and that's our favourite British broadcaster and naturalist, Sir Attenborough, so its not just me going soft and gooey here...
For my first gig
I was asked to speak at a press conference. I was nervous and
when asked how I found Ubud and the festival I wanted to say something like
this:
Literary
festivals are integral for authors to meet to exchange ideas, to cross borders
and share this documentary we are all writing, of this life and of our time. We
are living in exciting times. Some of the writers on the bill here are old
friends of mine and others I have read and admired or follow via facebook or
twitter. Its brilliant to finally meet these people and hear them speak. We may
all come from different countries but we are all telling our version of the story,
all with our own language and experience, but all sharing one key love and
that’s the writing and that’s the books.
I’m not sure if I got even a fraction of that point across though, I got shy
and I was sitting next to the brilliant and twinkly smile of Indonesian
novelist Andrea Hirata.
Natural Beauty is Bali..
Paddie Fields
That first
evening there was an opening ceremony at the Palace. Traditional Balinese
dancers, intricate costumes in
gold, dazzling music and drama. There was a ceremony of thanks and praise,
blessings and joy and this was followed by a dinner at Casa Luna. I lucked out and got a seat next to Australian poet
Alicia Sometimes, a Melbourne
poet I’ve known for over a decade and yet have not seen face to face for ten
years, so you can imagine there was a lot of catching up to do. Alicia and I met
when she published me when she was co-editing ‘Going Down Swinging’ back in my early ‘Saltpetre’ SaltPeter and Resonance FM days. We used to send packages to and fro overseas
and play each others spoken word compilations on our respective radio shows
back then…already that’s ten years ago…where are the years going my friends?
Now Alicia is a broadcaster on national Australian Radio Station 3RRR and her highly-regarded literary show is called Aural
Text. Also on our table I met SeanWhelan for the first time, and what a
diamond poet he is too. Terrific writer, a warm Brautigan feel to his work, and
a great laugh to have midnight swims and gins with too. I was so glad when I
discovered nearly all of my shows and panel debates were alongside these
superstars from down under Alicia Sometimes, Sean Whelan and also the brilliant Australian writer GeoffLemon too. Google them after you read
this…
I was quite drawn to introduce myself to the great Arthur Flowers, there was a big magnetic pull in the room, like there was this giant
of a soul in the room. I was convinced I had met him before. Arthur
Flowers is a Vietnam veteran, Memphis
blues dude and a contemporary griot. You must check out his book, an
extraordinary jam session of Patua art and masterful story telling. I read it
in one greedy gulp, give this book to your children, but after you read it
first of course ‘I See A Promised Land - The Life Of Martin Luther King’ - illuminating, a pure delight of a
book.
I also clocked
another favourite of mine, Chris Abani.
Chris and I were published in anthologies together back in the mid-1990’s, but
more recently I’ve been thrilled to check out his TED talks. Amazing to run into that great soul again
too.
So festivals, of
course, you try to catch as many talks, panel debates and readings as you can -
I had two or three missions or gigs a day and so missed many that I had
ear-marked in my programme. Although I heard people buzzing in the bars having
met or heard the likes of Alexander McCall Smith, Aneesha Capur, Benjamen
Law, Gregory Day, Jaya Savage, Kunal Basu, Iain Bamforth, Meg Mundell, MohezinTejani, Oleg Borushko, Rudolf Dethu to
name just a few…
The wonderful Alicia Sometimes
Griot Arthur Flowers...
The Cambodian Space Project
Another massive
highlight for me was meeting and performing with The Cambodian Space Project they blew me away with an awesome version
of ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ sang in Cambodian. This was
followed by an original song titled ‘Broken Flower’ which is sublime, a real tear jerker. The Cambodian
history and life story is interweaved into this shockingly beautiful music. We
played two shows together, one out in Denpasar at Antida and one
was in the middle of a lotus lake, all flowers and fairy lights. That night
there was a soft warm rain shower, beautiful children singing, they were angels
in gold.
Its a thrill to travel and to be able to perform to new audiences, to crowds who perhaps do not
have English as a first language too. To perform long forgotten songs and
poems, for they may be old to me, but they are new to new people who have never heard my work before and I do have over two or three decades of poems now - I did the maths and I have been doing this longer than I have not. It’s a freedom and a celebration to showcase all your old
favourites as well as try out new work too as a response to the other authors
in your session. An example of this and a great inspiration for me was performing alongside MarcelaRomero a spanish speaking story-teller. We were on a panel discussing performance, page v's stage, and even though I do not speak Spanish, her delivery was totally universal, her smile, her
pauses, spoke volumes, and in every and any language, her work came from her heart. And this reminds me of this:
The theme of this years festival was Nandurin Karang Awak – Cultivate the Land Within. The
theme is inspired by a line in Gaguritan Salampah Laku, a long poem in
traditional metres. It was composed by Bali’s greatest Kawi-Wiku
(poet-priest) Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen. In one part of the Geguritan,
Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen says,”…idep beline mangkin, makinkin mayasa
lacur, tong ngelah karang sawah, karang awake tandurin…” (My intention
now, pursuing the life of simplicity, [since I] don’t have any rice
field, [I shall] cultivate the land within myself).
My next mission was to host a lunch ‘in conversation’ with Booker Prize winning author DBCPierre at the sensational Four Seasons
Hotel. A stunning establishment, with the wow factor and a lake of lotus,
lilies on the roof. I haven’t hosted a literary lunch before, but how difficult
can it be to have a chat, drink wine and have a laugh with one of the most
infectiously mischievous writers I have ever had the joy to meet. Pierre has a
smoky, gravel voice, a quick mind, an infectious laugh and many a great long
yarn to spin. I saw him a month ago at the terrific Voewood Festival in picturesque Norfolk and now we’re here together
in Bali, quite a lovely coincidence and a happy collision.
Jeni Caffin, Janet De Neefe & DBC Pierre
Jeni Caffin, Janet De Neefe & DBC Pierre
“Old punks never
die, they become writers.” Paul Kelly
said in his talk at the festival about his book How To Make Gravy.
Now between you and me, back in London, I’ve been glued to youtube clips of PaulKelly and Kev Carmoody. I love his work and was overjoyed to be asked to
support him at a Mudra Swari Saraswati Foundation fundraising event at a new venue in Ubud called Betel
Nut. Truth be told, I’m not sure that Paul
Kelly fans liked being told to Imagine
If You Had To Lick It. My gig however was saved by being joined on
stage by Jakarta-born singer Kartika Jahja,
we collaborated together on a rendition of a piece of prose about London’s
homeless titled Dead Drunk. Afterwards she told the audience she
is a boxer and sang a heart-stopping bluesy version of my Boxing Poem.
When Paul Kelly
took to the stage the venue was packed and cheering, rammed with fans. He was
joined on stage by clarinet played beautifully by Sian Prior and also the wicked blues dude Lucky Oceans. Like a love-sick
fan I wrote him a one minute poem, an Ode to Paul Kelly, and read it to the
crowd after the fundraiser auction for laughs. Paul was very kind, he said he
liked my poem, he asked me to sign it and give it to him. Paul Kelly is a gentle soul, to shake hands with him you meet
a man with soft edges and a big heart. I was lead to believe this by following
his lyrics and music and was moved to finally meet him.
That next day was a Sunday and I
was off-duty and found myself kidnapped by the young volunteers, Australian
university literary students from the Gold Coast. We had a laugh drinking
Bintang beers. We also got into a deep discussion, a private Q&A,
by their pool on the life of being a writer. I recall us discussing the work of
Brett Easton Ellis V’s Hubert
Selby Junior and pondering the hole in the
market for gritty female erotica, not Anais Nin pillow fights or chick lit
fluff. Following the lazy afternoon on Bintang, we partied well into the
small hours…cheeky monkeys.
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And the next day I remember
giggling through the sacred monkey forest with Australian comedienne and author
Corrine Grant and writers ClementineFord and DBC Pierre. I remember laughing as we did impersonations of the
lion from the Wizard of Oz “If only I had more courage!” “We’re not in
Kansas anymore, Toto” As a pink German tourist got set upon by a
crew of hardcore gangster monkeys from the projects. The monkeys, truthfully, I thought
they were pretty scary, really they were, wicked sharp teeth and claws, I
reckon they were trained to bite, nick sunglasses and cameras from gaping
mouthed tourists. But then I was running away from butterflies so what do I know?
My stay here has
been one laugh after another, but I have also found some breathing time and
peace, it is an illuminating culture and nourishing to get away from the city.
I know there is so much to learn and am sure I have made many faux pas. For example: you
must always take your shoes off when you enter a home, you must never show the
sole of your foot, and as well as please and thank you, it helps if you learn to say this - sing ken ken – no problem. I must stop gushing, but its difficult not to fall in love in these heavenly surroundings. The people of Ubud are the most friendly and peaceful and its catching after a while. I suggest you read Janet De Neefe's 'Fragrant Rice' before coming here, its got some excellent tips for local culture and protocol. She also mentions the best places to eat and explore in and around Ubud. Janet stepped off the plane in Bali in 1974 and never looked back, falling in love with the culture, the landscape and the mouth-watering cuisine. She later married the wonderful Ketut Suardana here. In this delightful memoir Janet offers insights into the ancient myths and rituals you will witness while you are here. Fragrant Rice is published by Periplus.
Janet De Neefe at the opening ceremony
Janet De Neefe at the opening ceremony
During this trip
I also flew to Bima, a small Island in
Indonesia for a satellite gig in collaboration with the main UWRF event. Bima was another world altogether, hotter
and drier and less advanced than Bali. There I read and met with students from
the college, writers and poets of Bima and the Minister of Culture, all hosted
by the wonderful local poet Alan Malingi.
I was taken to the Palace of the Sultan, in glass boxes there were
gilt ornate swords, gold and silver betel-nut pot and spittoons, all belonging
to the former Sultan and all his elders. Bima might be off the map for
Westerners now, but it has much to offer, mountains and wide empty beaches. I
can imagine tourism blossoming there over the next decade, so if you want to
get off the beaten track I suggest you go now before its changed too much. I felt like an
alien, sticking out like a sore thumb in a Muslim country, but the welcome was
very warm and hospitality so kind. That night the students put on a
performance, music, song, dance and theatre. Afterwards we jammed a song about
Bima and they tried to teach me to dance, all under the biggest starry skies.
Bima: Special thanks to Kadek Punami and Alan Malingi above & Bima students below
So, once the
festival is all over and the writers have gone back to their respective writing
garrets, if you are lucky, like me, you can stay to explore Bali a little. I
have never been to Bali, so I organised to stay on alone to write and explore. You might want to seek out the Balinese massages and health spas or take up yoga if you are that way inclined. For the more adventurous there's hiking and cycling up mountains, volcano walks plus water sports, scuba diving and white water rafting. I
enjoyed drinking a pina colada and meeting an elephant. What a wonderful experience to ride at a lolling
pace at such a lofty height through the jungle. I’d love to take an elephant
home and ride it to the pub...
Local Ubud art and artists are astonishing too, stunning sculpture and
paintings, batik and jewellery, its well worth taking time to visit one of the
very many art galleries and the temples too. While I have been here I’ve been making Bali style Book Club Boutique gigs in Bar Luna reading stories and poems and improvising with
local Indonesian musicians. What a lovely idea - Books, Booze and Boogie-Woogie
in Bali – maybe next year we’ll bring the whole BCB crew, now wouldn’t that be
wonderful. In fact after posting this missive, my next mission is to make a hit list of poets and writers, gather troops for UBUD 2012, who's coming?
Janet De Neefe, author and festival producer and business woman. And I
discovered she also teaches Balinese cooking classes here in Honeymoon Guesthouse As I write this I can eavesdrop from here on my
balcony and hear recipes, you need chilli, lime leaves, coconut…and…Oh you’ll
have to come find out for yourself.
Buy your ticket
to UBUD 2012 NOW and I’ll meet you
here! We’ll see the
sights, hear ground-breaking talks, inspiring sessions, an array of story
telling, poetry and book readings. We’ll walk up into the paddie fields, sit at
Sari Organik, eat beautiful food, watch
the cool ocean of green, listen to the swish of rice growing, sip mango
daiquiris, take moonlit midnight skinny dips…And don’t forget that after Ubud festival
you’ll need to buy an extra suitcase for all the books you’ll want to take
home!
Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you to everybody at UBUD 2011!
Australian writer Clementine Ford
First light driving through Bali and splashing with elephants
Paul Kelly, Sian Prior, DBC Pierre, Sean Whelan...
Indonesia from the sky
Jeni Caffin
Lots of laughs and masks...
Students of Bima and Alan Malingi
What was Michael Jackson doing there?
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SOME BOOKS IN MY SPARE UBUD SUITCASE!
Fragrant
Rice by Janet De Neefe
Lights
Out In Wonderland By DBC Pierre
Soundtrack
By Alicia Sometimes
The
Rainbow Troops By Andrea Hirata
I
See A Promised Land by Arthur Flowers
Odd
Poems And Slogans by John O’Sullivan
Lessons In Letting Go: Confessions of a Hoarder by Corrine Grant
Indonesia Bermimpi by Sean Whelan
NANDURIN
KARANG AWAK / A
Bilingual Anthology of Indonesian Writing