JP\/14\/book<\/p>\n
On literature and national calamity<\/p>\n
Riris K. Toha-Sarumpaet
\nContributor\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
At the turn of the year, amidst the blow dealt by expectations
\nin life and the reality of literary developments in Indonesia,
\nwhat absolutely needs to be emphasized the most?<\/p>\n
We agree that literature is not created in a vacuum and that
\nliterature marks and, in its unique capacity, carries life
\nitself. The hubbub of life, private and social affairs, political
\nagendas and acts that give rise to the confusion caused by the
\nacceleration of development and the unwillingness to develop, the
\neconomic machinery that has instead widened the extent of poverty
\nand human beings imbued with the enthusiasm stemming from but, at
\nthe same time, tossed by the nervousness originating from the
\nshackles of their mentality and the huge wave of lifestyle -- all
\nthese and many others can be found in Indonesian literature.<\/p>\n
How can this entire hubbub be understood in relation with the
\ndevelopment of literature and life in Indonesia?<\/p>\n
That literature in Indonesia is developing, and even with
\ngreat passion, is obvious from the following: bookshops crowded
\nwith children that can read literary works for free; theatrical
\nperformances in villages, poetry and short story reading as well
\nas the musicalization and performance of these literary genres -
\nactivities flourishing everywhere including on city buses; book
\nlaunches coupled with various programs that show the great
\nenthusiasm in writing and reading; contests and competitions in
\nthe writing of short stories, poems, novels and even plays in
\nnearly all parts of Indonesia; the emergence of many new writers
\nthat are young in age, handsome and pretty and that, therefore,
\nhave become the idols of many youngsters; the springing up of
\nthousands of literary communities that, despite the financial
\nconstraints for their proper growth, have survived and given
\nbirth to many new writers, literary aficionados and literary
\nactivists; and, last but not least, the busy activities of large
\nand small book publishers in every corner of the country.<\/p>\n
I believe, literature in Indonesia, like a rosebud, is growing
\nand further developing its own color, fragrance and thorns. This
\nis the interesting feature about Indonesian literature and it is
\nthis that needs underlining.<\/p>\n
First, the variety of literary themes and the backgrounds of
\nwriters.<\/p>\n
While in our school days, we became familiar with Indonesian
\nliterature associated with the theme of forced marriage, mainly
\ntaken up by the writers from Sumatra, followed later by the
\nintroduction of many other themes reflecting local color and
\ndeveloped chiefly by Java-born authors, today, with an
\nacceleration spurred by the technology of communications,
\ninformation and also industry, it is no longer likely to refer to
\nonly one or two main themes in Indonesian literature with the
\nwriters being born only in Java, Bali or Sumatra.<\/p>\n
As the emergence of new writers -- young or old in age --
\ntakes place at a very high speed and also because of the high
\nmobility of the spread of these budding writers, it is difficult
\nto determine that -- and it is no longer too relevant now to say
\nthat -- certain writers born in a certain region are doing very
\nwell and will be the leading figures in Indonesian literature.<\/p>\n
At present, the market is witnessing the rapid influx of
\nliterary works by writers from Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, Bali,
\nSouth Sumatra, West Sumatra, Lampung, Riau, Yogyakarta, Central
\nJava, West Java, Jakarta, Depok and so forth.<\/p>\n
The difficulty becomes all the bigger given the fact that in
\nterms of the problems tackled and the method of literary
\npresentation adopted, Indonesian writers from Bali and Java, for
\nexample, have clearly declared themselves "cosmoplites".
\nTherefore, the colors of the roses now blooming in Indonesia's
\nliterary flower garden are highly varied with all shades of
\ncolors and nuances appearing in varying degrees from the most
\nglaring to the softest, featuring a mixed play of character
\ntraits and tastes and born of the community the writers belong to
\nand also of their background and writing motivation.<\/p>\n
The following examples will illustrate this situation. On the
\none hand we read the works by Taufik Ikram Jamil, Ediruslan Pe
\nAmanriza and the other writers from Riau, all laden with social
\ncriticism, depicting the traditional community and bringing up
\nmatters related to the marginalization of the Malay ethnic group,
\nwhile on the other hand, there are meet-the writer events for
\nKalimantan-born poets, who, as Korrie Layun Rampan has put it,
\nhave abandoned their "local esoteric expression" and have taken
\nup a universal means of expression without forsaking the
\ncharacteristics of their local history.<\/p>\n
Put side by side, for example, the writers from Bali, such as
\nthe outspoken Oka Rusmini and Tan Lioe Ie, who have steadily
\ndemonstrated their multi-ethnicity, and the writers from West
\nJava like Acep Zamzam Noor, Nenden Lilis and many others who
\nspeak about everything that gives rise to worries in a manner
\nthat nicely sharpen our understanding of life and augment our
\ncare for it.<\/p>\n
Second, the power and quality of literature.<\/p>\n
At this juncture, the labeling of literary works as and their
\nclassification into, for example, regional literature, urban
\nliterature, pop literature, high-brow literature, old literature,
\nmulti-cultural literature, marginalized literature, contextual
\nliterature, newspaper literature, Islamic literature, women's
\nliterature, chick lit, pimple literature, teen lit and children's
\nliterature are but an inevitable formalistic flirtatiousness.
\nThis categorization stems from and heavily relies on the writers'
\nconcepts and positions, the main conflicts and themes, the
\nsetting of time and place, the style of writing, the literary
\nform the works assume and the readership target. In fact, this
\ngrouping is highly problematic, especially when this matter is
\nviewed in terms of quality.<\/p>\n
Take the workers' literature, for example. This type of
\nliterature, which is written by the workers as a means of
\nresistance against the system that oppresses them, is not
\nsomething that can be generalized as a poor literary output
\nsimply because it comes from low-class workers without formal
\neducation. What about the so-called sexual literature, which
\nallegedly contains a lot of sensation and sensuality but which
\nhas given rise to an unbridled boldness on the part of (young)
\nwomen writers? If their works are considered to be "non-
\nliterary", do not forget to read Wei Hui's Syanghai Baby, a novel
\nthat presents sex scenes not for the sake of stirring sexual
\ndesires only as it can also allow us to get acquainted with the
\ndark side of human beings and, at the same time, maturely
\ncontemplate upon the notion of feminism.<\/p>\n
Third, the plight and problems of literature in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Despite the growing enthusiasm to produce literary works, and
\nin spite of the emergence of new writers in many places across
\nthe country, it must not escape our attention that only a very
\nsmall percentage of our community belongs to readers of
\nliterature. It must be admitted that literature and the writing
\nof literature are yet to be popular. For the Indonesian
\npopulation of 220 million people, literature is not a necessity.
\nFor them, a mouthful of rice, climbing of the career ladder,
\nranks and especially power are still more important than the
\nsolitary activity of reading.<\/p>\n
In view of the complicated problems facing the world of
\nliterature, it is easy to allege that the root cause of these
\nproblems comes from education and teaching that are generally
\nstill embroiled in their own problems and also from literary
\nteaching that is yet to be able to encourage students to
\nappreciate literature.<\/p>\n
Viewed from the scheme of the problems related to literary
\nteaching, spread and expansion, the efforts to address these
\nproblems and the response that the community shows to these
\nefforts, a conclusion can be made to the effect that the
\nIndonesian community, actually, is still devoid of any reading
\ninterest. That this conclusion bears truth may be seen from the
\nfact that we still witness poor linguistic behavior, the priority
\ngiven to exact sciences, which are set in contrast with the
\nhumanities and even policies on book affairs that all virtually
\nreveal that we are not a reading nation, let alone a nation that
\nloves literature. This is the thorn that is strongly implanted in
\nthe tree of literary life in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
What can be done in future to seriously and equitably develop
\nliterature in Indonesia?<\/p>\n
First of all, we must realize that in view of the mobility,
\nmix-up and rapid growth of writers tackling various themes of
\ntheir own choice, we need a smartly observant and continuous
\nliterary mapping. This map can come in handy to encourage a more
\nsolid and balanced rise of literature and can also make us
\nrealize that essentially, the main character Indonesian
\nliterature and life is diversity.<\/p>\n
This reality also lies in parallel to the second thing, namely
\nthe urgency of quality following the fact that we are in fact
\nvery fond of being grouped. Contrary to the essence of their own
\nworks, literary workers seem to need confirmation. Instead of
\nbeing self-confident, they are fond of looking for a patron. In a
\nridiculous way, they like to consider Jakarta or Yogyakarta, for
\nexample, as a literary center or even a rival by positioning as
\nbelonging to their own literary turf or the literary zone of
\ntheir opponents. To minimize this tendency, various topics,
\ntastes, colors and styles must be encouraged at all places simply
\nto give recognition to human freedom and the power and humanity
\nof literature while at the same time encouraging the emergence of
\nand fostering of the growth of readers of literature at various
\ngrades, levels and places.<\/p>\n
Last but not least, all ways to develop a reading interest and
\nforce Indonesian children to read, let alone to be engaged in
\nliterary activities, will never be fruitful unless the leaders,
\nthe teachers and the parents begin reading themselves. For a
\npaternalistic society like ours in Indonesia, the first step that
\nmust be taken is to give recognition to and appreciation for the
\nimportance of literature in life, as, for example, evident in the
\ncurriculum, the supply of teachers, the recognition given to
\nliterary dynamics and systems, the policies on book affairs and
\netc.<\/p>\n
For us who have to deal with multi-dimensional problems and a
\nliterary world that develops like a rose with its own color,
\nfragrance and thorns, what we need is a model. It is compulsory
\nthat a sound environment where differences of opinion and
\ndifferences in anything at all can be happily and maturely
\nacceptable be made available. Of immediate results will be
\nefforts to make use of and empower literary communities and
\ncultural pockets. Never to be abandoned will be efforts to
\ncontinue facilitating the survival of libraries, introduce
\nliteracy to the illiterate teachers and ensure that everyone,
\nevery family and every group will make an efficient use of their
\nlinguistic skill. The immediate task will be to lift Indonesians
\nout of not only economic poverty but also linguistic poverty. The
\nmain problem afflicting Indonesians and the root cause of the
\nnation's calamity are none other than illiteracy.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the School of Cultural Sciences at
\nthe University of Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp14book-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}