Besok, Saya Melukis?/Tomorrow I Paint?: Bali Diaries

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

The author traveled to Bali to work on her master’s degree. While
there, she kept three separate diaries: a daily experience diary, an
observation journal, and a personal diary. The diary entries that make
up the bulk of this unique, rewarding book are interspersed with colour
and black-and-white illustrations.

In a brief introduction, Original describes the history and many
traditions of the Balinese people. The entries themselves provide
valuable insights into Balinese culture, religion, art, education,
creativity, and spirituality. They recount the pleasures of wearing
traditional Balinese garb and eating satay (barbecued meat and fish,
with hot sauce, on sticks). They also record moments of apprehension, as
when a “sleazy character” approached the author and demanded that
she pay his bus fare (she refused, and finally had “to chase him
off”). Bali Diaries will appeal to artists, educators, cultural
historians, critics, and interested general readers.