Even though no one admits it, writers are leaders in their communities.

I'll do as I please. My mind is not to be imprisoned.

I happen to be pretty productive when I am in jail. When you are in jail, you have to spend more time with yourself.

At the beginning of all growth, everything imitates.

I did not succeed in everything I did. And even where it did seem I was succeeding it was not always the case. The human heart has a million facets.

Every award for me is important because it means a slap against militarism and fascism in Indonesia.

I will not close my eyes, neither those in my head nor those in my soul, as the ship carries me away, along with my future, my dreams, and my beliefs. Buru Island is no happy land somewhere; it's but a way station on my journey in life—though to believe even that much will require no small measure of hope.