On God and Other Unfinished Things

(Translation of Tuhan dan Hal-Hal yang Tak Selesai by Goenawan Mohamad)

Publisher: Kata Kita
Publication Date: September 2007
Retail Price: Rp 75,000

Foreword
In 1925, Roestam Effendi published his poetry collection, Pertjikan Permenungan (Scraps of Thought). This book follows in its footsteps, albeit in a different form and under a different title. A word like “scraps” or “tatal” is apt for the task because this is hardly a full script. Each of its parts is written with brevity, or with near-brevity—a cut or a remnant of sorts of a larger piece. All 99 of these “scraps” can be read sometimes as parts that support or refute one another, other times as pieces that stand on their own.

Some of them are variations of the themes found in Catatan Pinggir (Sidelines), my weekly thought pieces in the newsmagazine Tempo, others are categorically new. All were written in times not unlike the one we are currently experiencing now, in which God seems to be irrefutable and religion gains ever more currency in the lives of many: dispensing strength, illuminating the path, but is at the same time confusing and frightening.

-- G.M.