Hendri Yulius Wijaya (1990, IDN) is this year’s Artist in Residence at Poetry International and is one of the few openly queer poets in Indonesia, as well as a key voice in Southeast Asia’s queer discourse. Under Indonesia’s conservative regime, that takes a special kind of courage. Wijaya storms that breach with pen in hand and heart on sleeve. In his work he offers a glimpse into how the norms imposed by family, community and country can constrict, and where he finds room or carves it out for himself. Always with the same resolve to simply be who he is and love who he wants.
How you might know this poet
- Author of Stonewall Tak Mampir di Atlantis (2020), one of the first explicitly queer poetry collections in Indonesia.
- International speaker on queer culture and identity in Southeast Asia.
- Active as essayist and commentator in debates on LGBTQIA+ rights in Indonesia.