Global readability and locality negotiation in Indonesian world literature

The international circulation of Indonesian literature raises questions about how local cultural specificity is negotiated when literary works enter transnational literary spaces. This study examines global readability and the negotiation of locality in selected Indonesian literary works through a comparative literary criticism approach. The study employs a qualitative descriptive method by comparing selected works by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Eka Kurniawan with their English translations, supported by relevant studies of translation, paratextual framing, and world literature. Data are collected through documentation and close reading of textual passages representing cultural, historical, linguistic, and ideological elements, and are analyzed by comparing their representation in the source and target texts. The findings indicate that global readability is not an inherent quality of a literary work but is constructed through translation, cultural mediation, paratextual framing, publishing, and reception. The analysis further shows that locality is not necessarily diminished through international circulation; instead, it may be retained, transformed, reframed, and reinterpreted. Thus, Indonesian literature participates in world literature through an ongoing negotiation between local cultural identity and transnational readability. This perspective positions Indonesian literature as an active participant in world literary exchange.