This year's Ubud Writers and Readers Festival celebrated the works of Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, with his book "Bumi Manusia" ("This Earth of Mankind") serving as the main theme for the event.

The book was part of the "Buru Quartet," a tetralogy by Pramoedya released between 1980 and 1988. The series was written during Pramoedya's exiled days as a political prisoner and were once banned in Indonesia.

But at the four-day festival in Bali, which wrapped up on Sunday, writers from around the world gathered to talk about the writer's legacies in literature and Indonesian history.

Pramoedya, who died five years ago at the age of 81, has written more than 20 books, including lesser-known short stories.

In his work, Pramoedya always highlighted Indonesia's social and economic situation, which was heavily affected by the occupation by the Dutch and Japanese governments.

He was known for talking about socialist causes, which led to the common belief that he was pro-communist. But regardless of his political point of view, Pramoedya remains a strong influence in Indonesian literature for "recording" Indonesia at its darkest times.

Some of Pramoedya's work was also displayed at the Neka Art Museum in Ubud on Friday.

Jamie James, a former staff critic for The New Yorker, said it was about time that the literary world started assessing Pramoedya's legacies. James first met the man when he visited Indonesia to write a profile on him about 20 years ago.

"Pram was clear and thoughtful about his answers, it was a great interview because he wasn't giving me the big show," James said of the experience. James said the strength of Pramoedya's writing was that he never rubbed the reader's nose in the tragedy of the subject.

John McGlynn, co-founder of the Lontar Foundation and the man who translated several of Pramoedya's works into English, said the writer's popularity increased as Suharto's power weakened in the late 1990s. "Bumi Manusia" was banned in 1991, but by the end of the New Order era in 1998, Pramoedya's books could easily be found in bookstores.

Pramoedya finished "Bumi Manusia," the first of the "Buru Quartet," in 1980. The second book "Anak Semua Bangsa" ("Child of All Nations"), followed in the same year.

Five years later, he published "Jejak Langkah" ("Footsteps"), and completed the quartet with "Rumah Kaca" ("House of Glass") in 1988. These books follow the story of a revolutionary Indonesian named Minke, as well as other characters, such as Nyai Ontosoroh.

The female character Nyai was even adapted into a play and that was produced by Faiza Mardzoeki in 2007, with Nyai being portrayed by actress Happy Salma.

Faiza said she admired Pramoedya's portrayal of strong women. Happy added that when she rehearsed for Nyai, she was surrounded by feminist activists who didn't want her to represent the character the wrong way.

"At that time, I was only 26, I wasn't married and did not have children, so I really worked hard to earn the sensitivity to play Nyai Ontosoroh," Happy recalled.

For Ketut Yuliarsa, the owner of Bali's Ganesha bookstores, Pramoedya uncovers a psychological fear for him as a book reader, because he was forbidden to read his books during his childhood. Ketut suggested that if his uncle was given one of Pramoedya's books today, he would probably throw it out of the window.

"It is so different with [the situation] today, my son can read Pram's books, both in Indonesian and its English translation, without any psychological burden," he said.

Ketut can easily associate Pramoedya's books with his darker days as an Indonesian citizen. He still vividly remembers the moment where he needed to hide under the bed due to a house raid in the 1950s. It was quite a traumatic experience for Ketut, and he said, many writers of his generation.

Melbourne-based Indonesian writer Lily Yulianti Farid shared a similar feeling about Pramoedya's books. Lily, too, was once not allowed to even touch his books. Her aunt would tell her to keep the books on the shelves and not read them because it would be "dangerous."

These days Lily has observed how the younger generation thinks of Pramoedya as "cool" because "he was once imprisoned for his thoughts." "There's a nostalgia, not to mention that his writings are still relevant to Indonesia today," she said.

Australian writer Max Lane said that the future of Pramoedya's legacies depended on the frequency and depth of discussions that Indonesians have about the author. Lane, whose primary focus for the past 40 years has been Indonesia, says that Pramoedya and poet W.S. Rendra have been among the most important figures in political perspectives in literature of the 1960s.

To enrich the author's legacies, Lane advised Indonesia's young writers to do what Pramoedya never did, and write a historical novel about the young generation today.

Lane pointed out that "Bumi Manusia" is currently a movie project and he is looking forward to see how the movie will be received by millions of viewers, especially those who don't know about Pramoedya's influence in the literary world or the country's history.

There is a chance that the life of Pramoedya and his legacy will be seen as only a symbol, Lily said, adding that during the protests in 1998 – which eventually led to former president Suharto's downfall – Indonesian students used Sukarno and Pramoedya as a symbol to represent critical thinking and freedom.

Ketut, however, has no objection to this happening. "Pram could be a hero or simply an important figure in Indonesian literature, but let's take comfort in the fact that young readers today can read his books without a fear," he said.