Deep grief at the changes to Bali caused by tourism is a recurring theme in the province's modern fictional literature, according to a University of Queensland study.
Asian Languages and Studies Department PhD student and tutor Nyoman Darma Putra has written the first book on the history of modern Balinese literature (1900-2000), finding the first example published in 1913.
The school textbook encouraging clean-living and school attendance among Balinese children was published 20 years earlier than the 1931 novel previously thought by scholars to be the first example of modern Balinese literature, Mr Putra said.
Mr Putra's book, written in Indonesian and entitled The Milestone of Modern Balinese Literature (Tonggak Baru Sastra Bali Modern), examines many poems, short stories and novels written last century and documents the change in themes from education and morals through to issues such as the impact of tourism on local people's lives.
"Most studies of Bali centre on the anthropology, dance and drama of the area or the classic literature dating from the 9th Century," Mr Putra said.
"My book discovers a lot of grief, articulated in modern fiction, about the negative effects of tourism on the island including commercialisation and land appropriation. One poem laments the fact that the beach, once an important site for social and ritual functions, is now covered with sunbathing tourists."
Mr Putra's latest book was jointly published by the Postgraduate Program on Cultural Studies at the University of Udayana (Bali) and Duta Wacana University Press (Yogyakarta, Central Java), 2000.
It is his first sole-authored book with previous publications including To Change Bali (essays in honour of Professor I Gusti Ngurah Bagus), jointly published by Bali Post and the Institute of Social Changes and Critical Inquiry at the University of Wollongong, and Menagerie 4 (Indonesian fiction, poetry, photographs and essays), a series of anthologies published by the Lontar Foundation, Jakarta, 2000.
Mr Putra's latest book was launched at the opening ceremony of the Society for Balinese Studies Conference held at the University of Udayana to honour Professor Hildreed Geertz in mid-July this year.
For more information, contact Nyoman Darma Putra (telephone 07 3365 6435 or email s801635@student.uq.edu.au) or Shirley Glaister at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2339).
