There Are Tears In Things: Collected Poems and Prose

by Laksmi Pamuntjak, Viki Holmes (Introduction)

"What a pleasure to see Laksmi Pamuntjak's poems and prose texts in one generous volume that bears witness to her versatility and dexterity in both those genres, long before her name became internationally known for her splendid first novel. Her multivocal stories intertwine with the lush, layered textures of art and music, and her elliptical, deft poems observe with a clear eye the cityscapes of our own restless lives, whether in Jakarta or London, New York or Berlin." —Aamer Hussein, author of Another Gulmohar Tree, The Cloud Messenger and Insomnia

"It is clear from her beautiful poetry and prose that Laksmi Pamuntjak knows the human heart has many chambers (who cares what doctors think!) and that love, desire and longing is never so easy and simple as to occupy only one room in the hotel of our hearts. This staggering collection is both delicate and dangerous, forceful and faultless. She draws back the curtains on the aching complexities of vulnerability; all you have to do is enter." —Sean M. Whelan, author of Tattooing the Surface of the Moon

"Pamuntjak moves through cities and bodies and imprints and sends us these pages like postcards to cherish: on one side, poems and musings; on the other, vignettes and visuals. So we travel with her through her eyes, seeing and savoring each experience, renewed by every fresh taste or tableau." —Sharanya Manivannan, author of The High Priestess Never Marries

"Laksmi Pamuntjak's poems start in the thinking mind, intelligently constructed and seemingly softly spoken. But they roam wildly into everything that surrounds it, both by way of the material, the bodily, the sensuous, and along the transformative power of the imagination. Her verse brings these two distinct modes of being together as if they are not separate at all. In so doing, her poetry is one where the personal, the political and the mystical are one. As they should be." —Joost Baars, poet, essayist, former manager of Perdu Poetry Theater in Amsterdam

Genres: Indonesian Literature

284 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2016

About the author

Laksmi Pamuntjak is a bilingual Indonesian novelist, poet, food writer, journalist and co-founder of Aksara Bookstore. She works as an art and food consultant and writes for numerous local and international publications including opinion articles for the Guardian.

She is the author of two collections of poetry (one of which, Ellipsis, appeared in the 2005 Herald UK Books of the Year pages); a treatise on the relationship between man and violence based on the Iliad; a collection of short stories based on paintings; five editions of the best-selling and award-winning Jakarta Good Food Guide; two translations of the works of Indonesian poet and essayist Goenawan Mohamad; and two bestselling novels.

Amba/The Question of Red, Pamuntjak’s first novel, won Germany’s LiBeraturpreis in 2016, was short-listed for the 2012 Khatulistiwa Literary Award, appeared on the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s Top 8 list of the best books of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015, and was named best work of fiction from Asia, America, Latin America, and the Caribbean translated into German on the Weltempfaenger (Receivers of the World) list. The novel is a modern take on the Hindu epic Mahabharata set against the backdrop of the Indonesian mass killings of 1965 and the Buru penal colony, and has been translated into English, German (Alle Farben Rot, 2015) and Dutch (Amba of De Kleur Van Rood, 2015). It also appeared in De Bild's Top 10 Books of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015, and the ORF Kultur Top 10 List for November 2015.

Pamuntjak was selected as the Indonesian representative for Poetry Parnassus at the 2012 London Olympics. Her prose and poetry have been published in many international literary journals. She currently divides her time between Berlin and Jakarta.

Reviews

[Farah Fitria Sari · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Milennia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awalnya aku sudah beli buku ini sejak 2019 kayaknya. Pertama kali ku baca, aku masih gak tau apa-apa, gak mengerti bahkan. Beberapa aja aku ngertinya. Lalu aku rangkum kalau buku ini mungkin emang bukan untuk diriku.

Lalu 2025, aku bawa buku ini pindahan dan tiba-tiba ketemu lagi, penasaran. Jadi, aku kasih kesempatan kedua. Mungkin dengan kondisi yang udah berubah, berproses jadi dewasa, aku semakin banyak relate dan banyak banget cerita dan puisi yang mencerminkan kehidupan sekeliling, khususnya untuk perempuan. Nangis sedikit.

Aku dibawa sama emosi akan sulit dan senangnya perempuan-perempuan di sekeliling kita. Tapi sepertinya, puisi dan cerita di dalamnya banyak menyentuh personal Laksmi, it feels so personal.

Gak nyangka akan jadi beda saat baca kedua kalinya.

[bila · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I challenged myself to read 'not of my cup of tea' book. Actually at first I had big expectations from her since everyone said her books were masterpiece and everyone complimented her but maybe my taste is kinda weird or different from others because I cant enjoy her books at all especially Aruna dan Lidahnya. Since from that I always put her book to not my taste shelves and after I read again her book which are full of poems and proses and yeah I cant. I lost.

But it's just my taste of book. Overall, she is one of Indonesian best writers out there!

[Anggi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this book gathering dust in my book shelf for years until I decided to pick Laksmi’s most recent memoir called Selaput Biru (Blue Iris). I really enjoyed her memoir which brought me back to this anthology of her body of work.

I am glad I finally managed to read it from start to finish. I think it can give you a tester of her writings from her poems, prose to excerpts from some of her published novels. I will definitely read more of her writings in the future!

[Reni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it should be very raw, intimate and personal. Unfortunately, this collection is excruciatingly alienating me. I've never been so lost. I relate more to middle-class kids overseas than to an author whose mother wears Manolo. Or maybe i need to level up and will get back to you again. But now, you're out of my league, girl.

[Restry Hastari · Rating 2 out of 5]

didn't really enjoy it

[Ranid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some poems are attracted, but the rest is not. I againts "love forgives itself"

And i stopped at selected prose

[Vioo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75/5

gue suka sama prosanya tapi kalo puisinya ada yg bkn selera gue. overall jadi pgn baca karya lain dari author inii

[Holy Nainggolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may love this book easily if you are the type of person who can sense and absorb other people emotions instantly. Laksmi is such a beautiful mind writer. Her endeavour to deliver the story in poetry and prose form reaches me as reader as well. As the title claims there are tears in things, poet by poet, prose by prose is truly inviting tears. Re-read this book is even more interesting and fascinating. What a lovely book.

[Pradipta Dirgantara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laksmi Pamuntjak has a top notch wordsmithery. Her words flow freely and melt in my mind through prose, poetry and short stories. They fly with and without purpose.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

so much love for this one. it's clear to see how a twisted mind with a lot of experience share her thoughts. my whole process reading this book was a roller coaster. from tangled storyline, to a lot of scrambled words, and ends up in grace. so much, so much love for this masterpiece.
i have to admit i googled a lot of things for this one, and sometimes i went back and forth between pages just to grab the whole concept between lines.

[Desca Ang · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You and I, how will it end –
wounds without poultice,
Questions without answers,
Just canvassing on, the rumour of colours.”
-Love is Like a Bruise by Laksmi Pamuntjak
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Full review: https://literatureisliving.wordpress....