Translator Tiffany Tsao joins us to discuss her recent project, the first publication in English of Indonesian writer Budi Darma's collection of short stories, "People from Bloomington." So much to talk about with this book! Darma's usual absurdist but very human eye crosses over here into more realistic fiction although readers familiar with Bloomington, Indiana may find the town rather transformed. The collection was originally published only in Indonesian, so Tiffany takes us through her process of capturing his voice in English with the kind of earthy and often very funny tone he used to present the odd Midwesterners. We also talk about cross-cultural writing, especially between east and west, and how book marketers struggle with books that have a truly global perspective, even though they are more reflective of our current world. Darma wrote his dissertation on Jane Austen in Bloomington, and we also chat about his literary influences, as well as his doctoral advisor and longtime Indiana University English professor, Don Gray. A wonderful literary episode.

An upcoming online event to honor Budi Darma:
https://burlingame.libcal.com/event/9407717 

Learn more about Tiffany Tsao here:
https://tiffanytsao.com/

Follow Tiffany on Twitter:
@TiffTsao

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