GoLA GonG

ME AND “THE WORLD HOME”

-Developing Mind and Shaping the New Generation-
- Bringing the World to Home through Books –

My name is Heri Hendrayana Harris. My pen-name is GOLA GONG. I was born in a small town, named PURWAKARTA, about 90 km east from Jakarta, on August 15th 1963. When I was two years old (1965), my parents moved to Serang, Banten, 70 km west from Jakata.

Serang was a small town which was known as a city with a bad stigma such as black magic and was left behind modernism. That time – about 1960 – 1980 - Serang Banten was like a city without a civilization, because there was no bookstore, local newspaper, library, and art centre (like theatre, galery, or museum).

BAD STIGMA

I lived around Serang square, also we called a civic centre. I saw debus, one of Bantenese traditional martial arts, every day, I played football at the yard or swam at the Banten river (around 200 meters from home). My parents never forgot to buy a newspaper, magazine, or story book for their kids. I liked reading. When I was a boy, I read many books like Tom Sawyer, Gulliver, Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, HC Andersen, also novels by Indonesian authors like Armyn Pane, Marah Roesli, Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana. We had a home library. After schooling, my friends visited to my home to read the books!

When I was 11 years old (1974), I lost my left hand. I jumped from a tree like Tarzan! And my father said, “You must read more and you will be somebody!” But, loosing my left hand didn’t make me feeling inferior, because books made me being a boy with much knowledges, more than my little friends.

I didn’t like to go to school. I always spread my imagination to the sky. I really wanted to went arround the world like Philippe Fog (Arround the World in 80 Days by Julius Verne). Day after day, I was thinking, “Why the Bantenese can not compete in the jounalism and literature?”

To learn journalics and literature, I had to go to Jakarta and Bandung. I heard, the atmosphere of investation in Banten was very complicated. One had to face the hegemony of the traditional heroes. So the investors did not want to invest in Banten. Publishing corporation like Gramedia was more interested in investing bookstore at Bandung or Lampung (Sumatra).

Day by day I saw Banten was more left behind others. The Bantenese did not have a perception and was poor of creativity. In fact, the distance from Banten to Jakarta was only one hour. I think Banten remains left behind is because of the presence of “jawara” (traditional heroes) who blocks youths’ creativities.

LEARNING CENTRE

I became a writer or novelist because I was looking for money to build a learning centre in Banten. I wanted Bantenese teenagers going forward and have a conception. I don’t want they have a similar destiny in the future as I do. I want to make a change in Banten through literature, journalistic, art, theater and film. That is why I establish Rumah Dunia (House of the World) behind my house on March 3, 2001.

FORUM LINGKAR PENA

I am just an author. I want to write many books for kids, teenagers, also families. In my opinion, Indonesian men of letters look like God. They were in the top of an ivory tower and frighten commoners. They adore aesthetics and even break the norms. I think I couldn’t be like that. I still write with paying attention to them. I believe that every work is always interrelated to the norms, moreover religion.So, I was so happily when I heard about the Forum Lingkar Pena (FLP) an organisation of young authors. In the FLP I don’t feel being chased to make a spectacular story and get an award. In it we always remind each others that writing a novel always connect with publishers, readers and the norms among people, nations and religion. We have missions, namely religious proselytizing with pens, which means through our works. We insert religious teachings in our works to invite the readers to goodness and against wickednessFor me, writing is for readers. Writing for humanity, that is what I like. In the FLP, we often made short story anthologies and the royalty is donated to humanity. I think I can do many things for humanity through writing. If I get an award, that is only an achievement. If not, I still keep writing as long as I live. In my opinion, being useful is more important than being an important person. Finding myself useful for surrounding makes me happier. Once again, I just an author. I am not a man of letters. But, I want everybody to read my books and get something from them. The last, you can call me a library activist!MY FACTS

My picture when I was amputated in CBZ, Jakarta, October 1974.
2. My picture when I was a bachelor, working at Gramedia, Hai.