How to Gain Symbolic Legitimation in Indonesian Contemporary Literary Field

When a young novelist appeared in the world of literature, how can he be recognized as a literary writer; who determines and how is the contestation, so the young novelist is considered a figure of literature; while others fail. This article examines the struggle to win symbolic legitimacy in the arena of Indonesian literature, through the case of a young writer named Eka Kurniawan, whose novels have been translated into various foreign languages. Eka gained symbolic legitimacy in the Indonesian literary field — amidst various agents (both individuals and institutions) who are considered to be legitimate figures of literature, with their contesting dominant views (doxa). Borrowing the theoretical framework of the Cultural Production from Pierre Bourdieu, this qualitative study reveals the structure of contestation that works behind the literary arena, and that to ‘win’ the symbolic legitimacy, a young emerging novelist has to be first recognized by those who hold the dominant views, and has to have relevant habitus and capitals. This research finding shows that before entering contemporary Indonesian literary field, Eka Kurniawan had a habitus and capital that did not diverge from the field thus it enabled the actors to survive and adapt to the field. Eka performed a practice and strategy that support the capital addition or production that he did not possess when he has dwelled in the literary field. The increasing of capital ownership (social, cultural and symbolic) in the arena has been brought Eka to become literary actor who succeeded in achieving recognition from legitimate literary actors (specific legitimacy) in the arena of contemporary Indonesian literature to occupy the different degrees of position comparing with first time he entered the literary field.