INCLUSIVE LITERATURE PRISON INMATES AND COMMERCIAL SEX WORKER COMMUNITIES IN PALU: AN ANTRO-SOCIO-LITERARY STUDY

Literature is not only an aesthetic expression but also carries transformative potential in shaping social awareness, empathy, and recognition of humanity. In Indonesia’s plural society with its complex social realities, literature should not remain the privilege of the educated elite but function as an empowering medium and a space of articulation for marginalized voices. This study proposes the concept of inclusive literature, positioning literature as a participatory and democratic arena where marginalized groups can actively create and appreciate literary works.

The research focuses on two socially excluded communities in Palu, Central Sulawesi: prison inmates and commercial sex workers. Both groups suffer from structural subordination, legal stigma, and cultural norms that deny them proper representation in national literacy. Using an antro-socio-literary approach—an interdisciplinary framework combining anthropology, sociology, and literature—the study employed qualitative methods: participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and textual analysis of poems and short stories produced during a six-month literacy workshop.Findings reveal three key contributions of literature: identity reconstruction and self-esteem restoration, psychosocial therapy through cathartic writing and reading, and social critique articulated via symbolic language. The works produced display thematic depth and aesthetic authenticity, reflecting alienation, loss, longing, spirituality, and hope. This confirms that marginalized communities possess creative capacity deserving recognition within contemporary Indonesian literature.The study affirms literature as a living social practice that negotiates identity, meaning, and symbolic resistance. Inclusive literature thus emerges as both cultural strategy and praxis for social transformation, bridging divides and advancing humanity.