Professor H.M.J. Maier, who since 1987 held the professorship in Malay and Indonesian literature at Leiden University, is an internationally known figure his field. He has also taught at Cornell University, and is now at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, as a visiting fellow. His publications include "In the Centre of Authority" which, combining the age-long Leiden tradition with new perspectives in literary criticism, marked a new phase in the field of Malay - Indonesian studies.
In the meeting he addressed us on Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Often considered to be the greatest of the modern Indonesian novelists, Pramoedya wrote his famous tetralogy when he was a political prisoner of the Indonesian government, and is still actively writing in spite of the ban on the publication of his works. Through Pramoedya's struggles and writings, Professor Maier will describe the political, social, and intellectual climate under which Indonesian writers are working.