How to Stalk Writers

As one of the best literary festivals in Indonesia – and arguably the region – The Ubud Writes and Readers Festival is one of Bali's yearly highlights. Among hundreds of exciting events on offer during the five-day event, we have chosen ten that makes a complete Bali literary experience.

1 Literary lunch with Wole Soyinka and Hari Kunzru at Four Seasons, Sayan.
Nobel Prize-winning playwright, political activist and connoisseur of fine wine, Nigeria's Wole Soyinka, rubs shoulders over lunch with mercurial UK novelist, and all-round twenty-first-century-renaissance-man, Hari Kunzru. The alchemical possibilities of the combination are almost too many to bear thinking about but could well lead to the synthesis of a hitherto unacknowledged fifth-season at the Four Seasons resort. Bookings are essential, but if you can't get a ticket, be on the lookout for startling atmospheric phenomena in the skies above Sayan.

2 Tribute to Rendra at Pura Dalem, Jalan Raya, Ubud.
Vale W.S. Rendra, who passed away in August this year, was perhaps Indonesia's best-known poet and dramatist. Rising to prominence in the tumultuous 1960s, his flamboyant declamatory style came to epitomise the voice of protest first against Soekarno, then against his successor, Soeharto, whose takeover, Rendra had originally, problematically, supported. By the end of the 1970s, his experiments with the radical kampung-based ‘Bengkel Theatre' led to a prison term, and a seven-year ban on all public performances. By the mid 1980s and into the 1990s he was back, performing his poetry to massive crowds of adoring fans. This tribute will feature a eulogy by Warih Wisatsana and readings of his work by other writers including Max Lane who produced the first English translations of his work.

3 Launch of the 2009 Anthology of Indonesian writers in translation at Neka Art Museum Jalan Raya Campuhan, Ubud.
An important goal of the UWRF is to promote contemporary Indonesian literary culture to a much wider readership. Recognising the crucial role of translation in achieving this, each year the festival publishes an English-language anthology that showcases new Indonesian essays, short stories and poetry by established and emerging writers. This year's launch will feature bilingual readings of work from the anthology, most by authors who have never before been translated. This free event once again proves to be a lively introduction to the incredibly vibrant and diverse Indonesian literary scene.

4 Poetry Slam at Casa Pasta, Monkey Forest Road
You've probably all seen this sort of thing on the sports network, but for those who don't know, a poetry slam is a bit like world championship wrestling. It can be brutal, sweaty, and downright gruesome and that's just the audience. Watch heavyweight wordsmiths battle it out with the poetic equivalents of the flying mare, the sleeper, the dreaded hammerlock, all to the accompaniment of cheering, jeering, foot stomping fans whose participation is all part of the entertainment. Performance poet extraordinaire Omar Musa, who is no stranger to the gladiatorial arena, having creamed the opposition in the 2008 Australian final, will start as firm favourite. But will he be a match for the talented line-up at this year's UWRF slam? A no-holds-barred contest of wit, hilarity and sheer linguistic brawn. Hey! Is that a haiku in your tights?

5 Literary Lunch with Fatima Bhutto and Desi Anwar, Alila resort, Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan.
A survey conducted in Pakistan recently ranked Fatima Bhutto a close third in the list of preferred Prime Ministers, but to date she has steadfastly resisted the dynastic and popular pressure to enter politics, focussing instead on poetry, journalism and points between. She is also such a disarmingly eloquent speaker, and fearless critic of injustices in her own country and around the world, that raising the topic of her alleged relationship with George Clooney would seem exceedingly shallow. Offering Fatima a platter of deliciously poised hors d' oeuvres will be Desi Anwar, broadcaster with Metro TV, journalist and former presenter of the ground-breaking news and current affairs programme Seputar Indonesia.

6 Twilight Playreadings at The Yoga Barn, Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud.
Plays by three celebrated playwrights and festival guests: Nigerian Wole Soyinka, Indonesian Cok Sawitri, and Italian Marco Calvani, will be presented by an all-star cast from Indonesia, Australia, Zimbabwe, and Italy. Settle back, close your eyes and listen, or focus on the faces talking. The stagecraft is inside your head. It's amazing how the images come. Go and give it a try yourself.

7Writers Rock Hard at Hard Rock Café, Jalan Pantai, Kuta.
Rock ‘n' Read! Sam Cutler, former tour manager for the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones – most notoriously during their 1969 "Let it Bleed" tour of the US, which ended on a dark and bitter-cold night at Altamont - has just written a book. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a candid memoir of those days on the road that throws a whole new light on the 1960s and 70s and the rock stars and spectaculars they spawned. Cutler will be joined by Jerinx from Bali's ambassadors of punk and custom culture, Superman is Dead, recently returned from their own tour of the US. Check, one, two.

8 Ode to the martini @ Naughty Nuri's, Jalan Raya Sanggingan, Ubud.
Literature is like distillation; both seek to capture precious essences. Try saying that after a few drinks! One part inspiration, three parts rocket fuel with a tantalising twist, Nuri's' martinis, with or without a side order of her equally famous char-grilled ribs, tuna or lambchops, have reputedly reduced "grown men" to tears. One or two writers at this year's festival have sworn off the stuff. And that just means more for the rest of them. An elegiac dedication to that most elemental of drinks, go hear their tales and odes and get yourself a taste of what they're talking about.

9 Midsummer night's dream, theatre fireFLY at ARMA museum, Jalan Pengosekan, Ubud.
Shakespeare teleported to the lush gardens of the ARMA Museum in Pengosekan. A cross-cultural, multi-everything production that combines sampled sounds with junkyard percussion, digital projections with natural features, and amateurs with professionals, to look at relationships: between communities, between people, between people and the environment, and between the seen and unseen worlds. The Bard's fairies in this adaptation are transformed into Balinese river spirits – played by young participants in a workshop programme run by the troupe.

10 Q & A cocktails with Vikas Swarup at Amandari, Kedewatan, Ubud.
Meet Vikas Swarup, Indian diplomat and author of Q&A, the runaway success topped and tailed to become the multi-Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire. His second novel Six Suspects, a Gordian knot of a thriller about the assassination of a reprehensible and politically well-connected playboy murderer, has also recently been optioned. Ask him, over a cocktail, how he finds the time to write, about the challenges and joys of cinematic adaptation, and about…well, anything really.

For full details, go straight to the UWRF website: www.ubudwritersfestival.com