That old childhood saying pick what you want from the tree of life simply not working anymore? Becoming a foreigner in Indonesia might be as good a stab at something new and rewarding, as anything
Armed with a teaching contract, some poems, and a guitar-playing buddy, Roberts discovers a potentially lifechanging experience in 2013. And so the Bajaj Boys make themselves at home. Indonesia is revealed as a challenging but welcoming land of instant millionaires, beautiful rubbish, abundant romance, powerful religion, and unnerving history. Nasi goreng, alcohol, cigarettes, bajajs, motorbikes, classrooms, a gentlemens club, poetry gigs, wild animals, and electrical storms weave together, as the dark cracks of Kemang open.
Jeremy Roberts is a resident of Napier-Ahuriri in New Zealand-Aotearoa, where he lives with his wife Asiah and daughter Alia. He MCs at Napier Live Poets, is poetry editor and performance reviewer for the VINES journal, and interviews poets on Radio Kidnappers. He has performed and recorded poems with musicians in NZ, and overseas in Los Angeles, Austin, Saigon, and Jakarta. He posts videos on YouTube and audio recordings on SoundCloud. Jeremys work has been published in a wide range of journals in New Zealand and overseas. His first poetry collection was Idiot Dawn, comprising poems written in the 1980s. Cards on the Table (IP, 2015) was reviewed by NZ Poet Laureate C. K. Stead, who said I enjoy it all and find a lot to admire. He won the Earl of Seacliffe poetry prize in 2019. https://www.read-nz. org/writer/roberts-jeremy/
"A chronicle of interactions with expats and locals, interspersed with impressions of Indonesia, Roberts excels in short, sharp, observational verse. Ripe stuff indeed. You might find yourself simultaneously amused and repulsed. If youve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall at gatherings of expats, this is your chance." -- Kenneth Yeung, Indonesia Expat
"Want a book which takes you on a three-wheel motorised rikshaw tour through a huge segment of the worlds population whom Kiwis hardly ever interact with? And would you like your book to discuss Ozzy, The Stooges, the Smiths, sweaty palms, c-dizzle, sex, death, and explain the Bahasa Indonesian word for boring all on page 138? Read The Dark Cracks of Kemang and think about doing something exciting with your life, even if youre 53 like Roberts. Write about it in steamy, sensual poetry. Record it and publish it on Soundcloud and YouTube just like Jeremy Roberts has done." -- Michael Botur, Award-winning New Zealand author
"This collection of saucy tales and its contributing cast of misfits pulls back the curtain on the expat dream. A fascinating odyssey that titillated both the adventurous and depraved parts of me. I loved every second of it." -- Darren Shrek, JGC Hall of Fame
