Dorothea Rosa Herliany (author) was born in Magelang, Central Java in 1963. After graduating from the Indonesian Language and Literature Faculty of Sanata Dharma Catholic University in Yogyakarta, she worked for several years as a journalist and freelance writer. Beside poetry, she has also written short stories, essays, and art and drama criticism. Her writings have been published by the major magazines and newspapers in Indonesia. Her books include Nyanyian Gaduh (Noisy songs), Matahari yang Mengalir (The Sun Flows like a River, 1990), Kepompong Sunyi (The Lonely Cocoon, 1993), Nikah Ilalang (Married to the Grass, 1995), Blencong (Oil Lamp, 1995), Karikatur dan Sepotong Cinta (Caricatures and a Slice of Love, 1996), Mimpi Gugur Daun Zaitun (Dreams of Falling Olive Leaves, 1999), Kill the Radio: Sebuah Radio Kumatikan (2001), Life Sentences: Selected Poems (2004) and Santa Rosa / Saint Rosa (2005). The volume Saint Rosa received the prestigious Khatulistiwa Literary Award for Poetry in November 2006. Currently she resides in a small village near Magelang, where she is Director of IndonesiaTera, a non-profit organisation working in the area of social and cultural research, publication, documentation, and the development of information networks relating to culture, education, and social awareness. Harry Aveling (translator)was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1942. A long time member of the Department of Asian Studies, La Trobe University, Melbourne, he has also taught at various universities in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. He has recently served as Visiting Professor of Translation Studies at the University of Indonesia, and as Visiting Professor of Linguistics and Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University. Translator of over fifty volumes of Indonesian and Malay Literature, he was awarded the Anugerah Pengembangan Sastra in Kuala Lumpur in 1991, for his contributions to the international recognition of these two literatures. His recent works include Secrets Need Words: Indonesian Poetry 1966-1998 (2001), Life Sentences (2004) and Saint Rosa (2005). His co-translations of eighteenth-century devotional Hindi poetry include The Brightness of Simplicity by Sahajo Bai (2001, with Sudha Joshi) and The Songs of Daya Bai (2005, with Peter Friedlander). Linda France (introducer)lives close to Hadrian's Wall at Stagshaw, Northumberland. She has a family connection with Wallsend, which she also explored. Her work appears regularly on radio and television. She gives regular readings in the UK and abroad, and teaches creative writing with Adult Education and community groups. She has had five collections of poetry published by Bloodaxe Books, and has been involved in several text-based Public-Art commissions in the North East.
