Morphology of Desire gives a generous introduction to the full range of writing by the internationally acclaimed Indonesian poet, Dorothea Rosa Herliany. The poems span the 1980s to the present day and though a distinctive mix of striking imagery and boldness of voice, the poet sets out to destroy many common assumptions about everyday life and human relationships. As a woman and a poet, she is doubtly an outsider. Her blatant departure, in form as well as content, from the accepted conventions of society (which intensifies through the progression of her work) is remarkable, not only in its personal and political ramifications, but in its emotional and imaginative tenor as well.

Translated by: Harry Aveling