Reviews of books, interviews with authors and artists, and reflections on literature, politics, collective memory, state violence (past and present), and resistance. Written for general readership.
“Upending the Archive Notes from Researching Third World Ties in Brazilian Cinema Novo” in ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America
Feb 2024
What was Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha’s relationship to the Third World in both material connections and theoretical frameworks? And to what extent did Cinema Novo directors actually interact with Asian and African filmmakers and cinematic traditions as they inscribed Brazilian film into the Third World?“A Celebration of Upheaval” in Singapore Unbound
Feb 2022
A review of the poetry collection Rain in Plural by Fiona Sze-Lorrain--a book that "allows us to grasp, for a moment, the points of contact that translation perpetually seeks."https://singaporeunbound.org/blog/2022/2/1/a-celebration-of-upheaval
“Asymptote at the Movies: Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” in Asymptote Journal
Dec 2021
A collaborative essay/interview on the film adaptation of the novel Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Eka Kurniawan. Collaboratively composed with Asymptote assistant editor Fairuza Hanun and award-winning Indonesian director, Edwin.“Introducing: Operation Jakarta” in História da Ditadura
Jun 2021
The US supported authoritarian, anti communist regimes across the world in the 1960s and 1970s. How were those dictatorships connected? And were there links between movements against authoritarianism? What transnational anti-authoritarian networks function today in civil society, art, and literature? My introductory essay on the topic for Brazilian public history initiative História da Ditadura frames my research as I begin to answer these questions. The text is also available in Victor Traldi's Portuguese translation.https://www.historiadaditadura.com.br/post/apresentandooperacaojacarta
“Jakarta is Coming” in the Mekong Review
Aug 2020
On the transnational links underlying anti-communist coup d'états in Latin America and Southeast Asia, as traced by Vincent Bevins in The Jakarta Method.“It's Your Turn to Rewrite the Story” in Public Books
Aug 2020
The fusion of pop and literary genres, counternarrative, and democratized storytelling in Intan Paramaditha's Apple and Knife and The Wandering (trans. Stephen J Epstein).https://www.publicbooks.org/its-your-turn-to-rewrite-the-story/
“'Insurrecto': A Postmodern Lens on Conflicting Histories” in the Jakarta Post
May 2020
(Mis)translation, continuities in state violence, and fragmented memories in the Filipino novel Insurrecto by Gina Apostol.“In Conversation with Felix Nesi” in the Transpacific Literary Project
Mar 2020
A conversation with Felix Nesi (author of Orang-orang Oetimu) on oral tradition, state violence, patriarchy, and writing from the eastern islands of Indonesia.https://aaww.org/in-conversation-with-felix-k-nesi/
“On Scars and Flying Horses” in the Mascara Literary Review
Feb 2020
A conversation with Indonesian activist and writer Linda Christanty on the language of authoritarianism and literary resistance.“Magical Double” in the Mekong Review
Jan 2020
On Borges, mirrored doubles, and Eka Kurniawan's collection of short fiction Kitchen Curse (trans. Benedict Anderson, Maggie Tiojakin, Tiffany Tsao, and Annie Tucker).“Putu Oka Sukanta and the Hidden Wounds of World History” in Asymptote Journal
Jan 2020
Why the literary works of author and former political prisoner Putu Oka Sukanta deserve translation and wide circulation in the English-speaking world. Awarded runner-up in the 2020 Asymptote Journal essay contest.https://www.asymptotejournal.com/special-feature/lara-norgaard-on-putu-oka-sukanta/
“The Latin America Connection” in the Jakarta Post
Dec 2019
The influence of Latin American literature on contemporary Indonesian fiction.https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/12/09/the-latin-american-literature-connection.html
“Personal Histories, Sexual Politics: An Interview with Ayu Utami” in Asymptote Blog
Dec 2019
"The way we control our bodies and the way we control our morality is political. The two cannot be separated."“Putu Oka Sukanta Brings Historical Memory to a Wider Audience” in the Jakarta Post
Oct 2019
On the translation of Spaces: Reflections on a Journey by Putu Oka Sukanta (trans. Keith Foulcher), released during the Goethe Institute Jakarta's celebration of the author's 80th birthday.“Be Small: An Interview with Marcelo Lotufo” in Asymptote Blog
Mar 2019
A chat with the founder of independent São Paulo publisher Edições Jabuticaba.https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2019/03/25/an-interview-with-marcelo-lotufo/
“Barbecue for Underground Poetry: Death and Life in the Subaltern Circles of the Buenos Aires Literary Scene” in Asymptote Blog
Feb 2019
"It was a space where anyone could perform anything, where anyone could consume anything, where the bathroom was not for the faint of heart."https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2019/02/25/19645/
“We Can All Be Walking Poets: Sauntering Verse and Dada” in Asymptote Blog
Dec 2018
"She skipped it / A rear Jesus / They of them / The sagging can retract or sagging sagging / A quirky staging / She pots him"“Rubem Fonseca e o caso do testemunho ficcional” in Peixe-elétrico #08: Guerra
Sept 2018
An essay on politics and fiction, from the work of Rubem Fonseca to the 2016 election in the United States. Translated from English to Portuguese by Ricardo Lísias.https://www.e-galaxia.com.br/produto/peixe-eletrico-08/
