Between 1965 and 1966, the Indonesian Army systematically murdered and jailed hundreds of thousands of civilians for their alleged association with the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). Those targeted as suspected PKI members included ethnic Chinese, Javanese Abangan Muslims, atheists, members of Gerwani or the “Indonesian Women’s Movement,” and many, many others. To this day, the Indonesian government has denied its role in instigating the state-sanctioned massacre, contending instead that the mass killings were in response to a civilian-led uprising.
Jeddie Sophronius, through their collection of docu-poetry Interrogation Records, aims to “[break] the silence and collective amnesia around the Indonesian mass killings of 1965.” Combining scant records and testimonies with poetry, Sophronius’ Interrogation Records makes palpable the immediate and multi-generational traumas of the massacre and its erasure.
On Nov. 6 at 3:00 PM EST, during an event sponsored by eLaboratories, Jeddie Sophronius will read and comment on a selection of poems from Interrogation Records. Sophronius will also discuss their work in preparing this collection, including the collection’s role as one part in an unofficial trilogy of Sophronius’ poetry.
Content Warning: Please be advised that the selected readings from this collection will reference acts of state-sanctioned violence and historical erasure, perspectives of racism or dehumanization enacted upon the victims of this violence, and feelings of cultural dispossession.