This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer & Max Lane

Author:Pramoedya Ananta Toer & Max Lane [Toer, Pramoedya Ananta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101615331
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 1996-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

As I folded up the letter I knew that tears had left blue smudges here and there where the ink had run. Why had a letter from a girl whom I had met only twice in my life made me cry? She was neither kith nor kin, not even of the same race. She had such hopes for me. While there I was totally confused because of my recent mistakes at Wonokromo. She wants me to be of value to my own people, not to her people. Is it possible there is now a new style of Multatuli and van Eysinga?

How should such a beautiful letter be answered? I had begun to consider myself a writer and had been praised by Mr. Maarten Nijman, Chief Editor of S.N.v/dD, but I felt too small to be able to equal Miriam’s thoughts. Still I forced myself to answer. Thank you, and no more than thank you, poured out in so very many words, perhaps just like the pouring out of Javanese musical tones that separately headed for and waited upon the gong. In the letter I sated my astonishment that Multatuli and Eysinga, whom I had just been thinking about, should be mentioned in her letter. Perhaps, I wrote, because we live in the same liberal era, in the same era, and I ended my letter with:

My good friend Miriam, I am so lucky to have found a friend such as you. I do not know what is going to happen in the next twenty years. I myself have never felt that I would ever become a gong. Neither had I ever dreamed of being even a drum; I have never had such thoughts, perhaps would never have had such thoughts had your beautiful and moving letter not arrived. Especially as it has come from someone who is not of my people. Peace and well-being be with you, my sincere Miriam. May you indeed one day become an Honorable Member of the Lower House.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.