Drama dari Krakatau (Drama of Krakatoa) is a 1929 vernacular Malay novel written by Kwee Tek Hoay, first published as a serial in his magazine Panorama between 7 April and 22 December 1928. Inspired by Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 novel The Last Days of Pompeii and the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, the book centres on two families in 1920s Batam with siblings who were separated in 1883. The brother becomes a political figure, while the sister marries a Baduy priest-king who ultimately sacrifices himself to calm a stirring Krakatoa. Before the final instalment had been published, the novel had already been adapted for the stage. Although Kwee was known as a realist and researched the volcano before writing, Drama dari Krakatau is replete with mysticism. Thematic analyses have focused on the depiction of indigenous cultures by Kwee (himself ethnic Chinese), as well as geography and nationalism. As with other works of Chinese Malay literature, the book is not considered part of the Indonesian literary canon.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_dari_Krakatau

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1724:

Johann Sebastian Bach debuted the St John Passion, a musical representation of the Passion, at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John_Passion

1788:

American pioneers established the town of Marietta (now in Ohio), the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pioneers_to_the_Northwest_Territory

1896:

An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached 86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest North mark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen

1948:

The United Nations established the World Health Organization to act as a coordinating authority on international public health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization

2010:

Thousands rioted in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, resulting in the collapse of the Kurmanbek Bakiyev government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyz_Revolution_of_2010

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

pharmacovigilance: (medicine, pharmacology) The detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects of medicines. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pharmacovigilance

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We need not war to awaken human energy. There is at least equal scope for courage and magnanimity in blessing, as in destroying mankind. The condition of the human race offers inexhaustible objects for enterprise, and fortitude, and magnanimity.   --William Ellery Channing https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing