John H. McGlynn (who also uses the pen name Willem Samuels; born October 14, 1952 in

Cazenovia, Wisconsin Cazenovia is a village in Richland and Sauk Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 318 at the 2010 census. Of this, 314 were in Richland County, and only 4 were in Sauk County. Geography Cazenovia is located at (43.5234 ...

) is an American editor and translator. In 1987, along with four Indonesian writers,

Goenawan Mohamad Goenawan Mohamad (born 29 July 1941) is an Indonesian poet, essayist, playwright and editor. He is the founder and editor of the Indonesian magazine ''Tempo''. Mohamad is a vocal critic of the Indonesian government, and his magazine was periodic ...

Sapardi Djoko Damono Sapardi Djoko Damono (20 March 1940 – 19 July 2020) was an Indonesian poet known for lyrical poems, and who was widely regarded as the pioneer of lyrical poetry in Indonesia. He died in South Tangerang, Banten on 19 July 2020 after a long illn ...

Umar Kayam Umar Kayam (30 April 1932 – 16 March 2002) was an Indonesian sociologist and writer. Biography He began his education at the Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) in Surakarta, where his father also taught. He continued his education at a MULO ...

, and

Subagio Sastrowardoyo Subagio Sastrowardoyo (1 February 1924 – 18 July 1995) was an Indonesian poet, short-story writer, essayist and literary critic. Born in Madiun, East Java, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), he studied at Gadjah Mada University, Cornell ...

, he founded the Lontar Foundation with the aim of promoting Indonesian literature and culture to the international world through the translation of Indonesian literature. According to

, "John works single-mindedly for our purpose: to bring Indonesian literary expressions to the world." McGlynn first visited Indonesia in 1976 on a

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

scholarship to attend an advanced Indonesian language program at the Indonesian Teachers College in Malang. He then attended the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the D ...

for a year, began working as a translator, then later returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to earn a master's degree in Indonesian Literature at the

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. McGlynn has translated or edited over 100 works, including translations of several of works by

Pramoedya Ananta Toer Pramoedya Ananta Toer (EYD: Pramudya Ananta Tur) (6 February 1925 – 30 April 2006) was an Indonesian author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics and histories of his homeland and its people. His works span the colonial period under Dutch ...

which he published using his pen name, Willem Samuels, including ''The Mute's Soliloquy''. According to

Tempo (Indonesian magazine) ''Tempo'' is an Indonesian weekly magazine that covers news and politics. It was founded by Goenawan Mohamad and Yusril Djalinus and the first edition was published on 6 March 1971. History New Order era On June 21, 1994, under the New Order ...

, "Over the years, McGlynn worked to produce English translations of Indonesia's top literary works, collaborating with a diverse group of translators, such as

Harry Aveling Harry Aveling (born 1942 in Sydney) is an Australian scholar, translator and teacher. He specialises in Indonesian and Malaysian literature, and Translation Studies. He received the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy in Malay Studies from the Natio ...

, an authority on Indonesian and Malay literature." He is the Indonesian country editor for ''

Manoa Mānoa (, ) is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from Ala Moana and Waikiki at . Neighbo ...

'', a literary journal published by the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, and has served as guest editor for

Words Without Borders ''Words Without Borders'' (''WWB'') is an international magazine open to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the world's best writing and authors who are not easily accessible to English-speaking readers. The ...

. He is a member of the International Commission of the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI), PEN International-New York, and the

Association for Asian Studies The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Asia and the study of Asia. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The Association provides members with an Annu ...

. He is also a trustee of AMINEF, the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation, which oversees the Fulbright and Humphrey scholarship programs in Indonesia.

Selected publications

* * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGlynn, John H. 1952 births Living people People from Cazenovia, Wisconsin University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Indonesian–English translators University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni