Afrizal Malna was born in Jakarta in 1957. He studied for a time at the Driyarkara College of Philosophy in Jakarta before dropping out.

In common with the work of Joko Pinurbo, a prominent theme in Afrizal Malna’s poems is the material aspects of urban existence. He is fond of juxtaposing images from daily life in a noisy, almost chaotic, manner, and the titles of some of this poems reflect this: ‘Anthropology of Coca-Cola Cans’, ‘Red Fanta for the Gods’, ‘Migration from the Bathroom’, ‘English Lesson on Body Weight’. He seems keen on finding links between objects in his poems, seeking – in his own words – a “visual grammar of things”. This intimation of secret connections among objects informs much of his poetics.

Joko Pinurbo is one of the most widely read poets in Indonesia today. Somewhat at a distance from the dominant lyric camp in Indonesian poetry, his work brings a refreshing mixture of narrative drive, irony, and self-reflexivity. Born in Sukabumi, West Java, in 11 May 1962, he later studied Indonesian language and literature at the Sanata Dharma University of Teachers’ Education and taught at his alma mater for several years.