By Lim Chee Wah

Given the island’s mysticism and fondness for the arts and culture, there might not be a more fitting place in Southeast Asia to host such an interesting (and perhaps cerebral) gathering. In fact, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, currently in its sixth year running, has been hailed as one of the world’s great literary festivals by several international publications.

This year, the festival will feature more than 80 literary personalities coming from a diverse international background; from performance poets and Nobel laureates such as Wole Soyinka, to journalists and authors such as Mohammed Hanif (‘A Case of Exploding Mangoes’) and Fatima Bhutto (outspoken Pakistani poet, journalist, novelist and niece of the late Benazir Bhutto). Our very own Amir Muhammad will be present too. It is very much a platform for Indonesian and Asian writers and thinkers to interact with their international counterparts and hopefully dispel cultural stereotypes on both ends.

Built on the Indonesian concept of Suka Duka, an ancient wisdom on compassion and solidarity, you can expect four eventful days, filled with intimate conversations, literary lunches, play readings, workshops, book launches, panel discussions and streets performances in and around the idyllic Ubud. You might not know this: the festival was created as a healing project after the first Bali bombing. Now it encourages the cross-cultural sharing of ideas, stories and perspectives on themes and issues that affects us greatly, including identity, exile, colonialism, censorship, gender and even food. It’s a good time to visit Bali because aside from an inventive dining, nightlife and resort scene, Bali is as satisfying culturally.