Beyond the Realm of Senses ― The Balinese Ritual of Kekawin Composition

While most other books have focused on Javanese kekawin , a kind of Indonesian poetry, Rubinstein sets out to correct the imbalance with her study of Balinese kekawin . The first part distinguishes Bali as a society of religious literacy, the author examining alphabet magic and the religious beliefs underpinning literary activity. The second section explores Balinese conceptions of kekawin composition as literary yoga, with consideration of the priestly identity of its poets and the act of composing as a religious ritual. The final part investigates the craft of composition with prosody and orthography in texts like the Canda , Bhasaprana , and the Swarawyanjana . Rubinstein is an Australian Research Council Fellow attached to the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney. Distributed in the US by The Book Bin. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Raechelle Rubinstein is an Australian Research Council Fellow attached to the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney.