Purbakala

Victoria Winata

Victoria Winata is an Indonesian, Melbourne-based writer, poet, artist, student, and theatremaker. Hailing from central Java, Victoria is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, where she majors in Indonesian studies.

In her writing and art Victoria is interested in issues surrounding multiculturalism, ethnic identity, national identity, and migration, among many others. Her work is contemplative, personal, and self-reflective as she often draws from her background as an Indonesian of Chinese descent who migrated to Australia as a young teenager. She writes in both Indonesian and English: her bilingualism is integral to her identity, and she strives to promote awareness about her birth country and its national language wherever she can.

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Her writing has been published in Cordite, Voiceworks, Farrago, and Screen Queens.

Written and translated from Indonesian by the poet.

Ada sesuatu yang sakral dalam diriku
Yang tak bisa kutarik keluar
Sesuatu yang tak bisa kusentuh
Dan yang aku tak sabar untuk menyentuh
Aku ingin memegang kitab-kitab tua
Dan membacanya tanpa ragu
Aku ingin mengilhami bahasa leluhur
Supaya aku dapat mengucapkan
Kata-kata raja
Dan bersatu dengan purbakala. 

There is something sacred within me
That I cannot pull out
And cannot touch
And that I am impatient to touch
I would like to hold the old books
And read them without doubt
So that I can speak the words of the ancients
And be at one with them.

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