Encourage writing among children: Indonesian author

Writing and reading is being human. Hence, even the juvenile, should be encouraged to explore their thoughts by way of their written expressions, according to an Indonesian author.

Doing so, Reda Gaudiamo, further said, is an expression of respect to children, who “have their voice. They have the right to “be heard.”

The 1962-born’s first attempt in quibbling words, was 57 years back.

Her story was about a little girl who planted a seed she had found, that bloomed into a butterfly.

Among the 72 “Indonesian Writers in Focus” grantees of Jakarta’s National Talent Management for Arts and Culture, Gaudiamo was among the 250 authors from 66 countries invited at the just-concluded 44th “Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).”

She sat side-by-side with Nadine Kaadan from France and Ondjaki from Angola at the “Turning Pages, Changing Young Readers’ Lives” panel.

Over the weekend, Gulf Today asked for her views on the capability of children to self-expression as in between, she spoke before 400 students of the Al Diyafah High School and 300 students of the GEMS Wellingtom International School in Dubai.

“The children are so wonderful. I prompted them to write with the question ‘What if wings grew on your shoulders? What would you do with these wings?’ They came up with stories within two minutes.”

The pianist-guitarist- cello student who has written 12 books since 2012, aside from setting to music the Bahasa Indonesian poems of some of her rekan segenaranya (compatriots), added: “It is important to see that that is important. That children are incredible. That they have imagination.”

“Writing should be encouraged among children. It will help them. It will help them understand the richness and value of life,” continued Gaudiamo, reiterating that across ages and varied backgrounds, all have their own narratives which must be treasured -- more than the “academic rankings and other trophies.”

Gaudiamo grew up in Surabaya, East Java’s capital. Her father, Paul, a second generation Chinese migrant from Aceh Province, trained into classical piano and guitar playing and her mother, Maria, of the Sabu tribe from Nusa Tenggara Province, “with a very beautiful voice” heavily influenced her musicality: “They bought me books. I began reading even before I went to school.”

That ingrained seed she was able to care for throughout her high school and university days. Friends and even faculty members asked her to write for them.

“One day, I sent my work to a magazine and they paid me. That was the only time I seriously considered that I can make money out of my writing,” related this once-upon-a-time journalist who rose from the ranks, became an editor, an advertising specialist, before entering corporate communications by way of a French oil-and-gas company.

Writing short stories and doing concert reviews in those years was her breather. Add to that the musical gigs with a “friend from long way back.”

In 2012, Gaudiamo who post-graduated with a degree in Masters in Communication for her journalism career, since her undergraduate studies was French Literature and Language, another huge influence of her linguist father, returned to her “first love” of writing short stories.

Her 2012-written “Na Willa,” (enunciated as Na Vila, her mother’s “secret name”), a gel of her own Surabaya growing up years and the childhood experiences of her daughter, currently based in Japan, is on its way to the big screen within the year.

A fortnight before the “SIBF 2025,” she had to dip in a “bucket of ice” her right hand every two hours after signing every 2,000 copies of her 25,000 pre-ordered “Kios Para Sore dan Cerita Orang-orang Biasa Lainnya” about the “joys, fears and small joys” of the ordinary at an evening market kiosk.

For Gaudiamo -- whose “many copies” of her unsold 2004 novel, “Whispers,” about the conversations she had overheard from her daily trips, were returned by her “bankrupt” publisher -- the best stories and writings, would be about one’s own experiences because these may resonate with somebody, somewhere.