A Literary Mycelium: Some Prolegomena for a Project on Indonesian Literatures in Malay

This article consists of two parts. First, some of the presuppositions that have moulded the dominant view of and approach to Indonesian literature are examined and contrasted with certain facts in the literary life of modern Indonesia. This results in the proposing of a ‘project’ in which this view and approach will have changed fundamentally. The biological species of the mycelium is used as a metaphor to reflect this change. The second part of the article is a case study that suggests how in a concrete way the Indonesian mycelium of literatures in Malay might be approached.