Poetry festival with int'l flavor<\/p>\n
Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java<\/p>\n
A poem can express mixed feelings -- longing, restlessness,
\nhate and many other feelings. In a poem, words come alive in
\ntheir own existence, appealing to the most indifferent heart.<\/p>\n
It is also by means of poetry that people of different ethnic
\ngroups, religious and racial backgrounds become united in a
\nsingle chorus demanding peace on earth. This was exactly the goal
\nof the Indonesian International Poetry Festival held in Makassar
\nin South Sulawesi, Surakarta in Central Java and Bandung in West
\nJava.<\/p>\n
As many as 38 noted poets from Austria, Africa, Germany,
\nHolland, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia took part, presenting
\ntheir best works for the Surakarta audience.<\/p>\n
The festival arouses enthusiasm for peace and friendship,
\nproviding room for a cultural encounter and chances for
\nexperiencing the beauty of international friendship.<\/p>\n
In Surakarta, the second leg of this poetry festival, the
\nevent took place at the auditorium of Muhammadiyah University
\nfrom April 6 to April 9. The festival will then move on to
\nBandung from April 10 to 13.<\/p>\n
In Surakarta the festival featured, among others, Dutch poets
\nsuch as Gerrit Komrij, Gerry van der Linden, Ramsey Nasr, Remco
\nCapert, Hagar Peeters, Rudy Kousbroek and Mustafa Stituo.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was represented by, among others, A. Mustofa Bisri,
\nAbdul Hadi W.M, Cecep Syamsul Hari; Darmanto Jatman, Joko
\nPinurbo, Oka Rusmini, Sapardi Djoko Damono and Zeffry J.
\nAlkatiri.<\/p>\n
Poets from other countries include Martin Jankowsky, Michael
\nAgustine and Brigitte Olenschinski (Germany), Breyten Breytenbach
\n(Africa), Kemala (Malaysia) and also Martin Amanshauser
\n(Austria).<\/p>\n
These poets speak about different themes as suggested by the
\ntitles of some of their poems, like I Feel Sorry by Michael
\nAugustine of Germany, Counterweight by Gerrit Komrij of Holland
\nand How About If I Accompany You to Walk a Bit Further? by Hagar
\nPeeters of Holland.<\/p>\n
From Africa we have Significance Behind Horizon of Words by
\nBreyten Breytenback of South Africa and from Malaysia, Kemala
\nwrites about the restlessness in life in Universal Canvas, Self
\nand Mirror and At Pushkin Museum.<\/p>\n
The only woman poet representing Indonesia was Oka Rusmini of
\nBali, who expressed concern over the changes occurring in her
\nbirthplace in Land of Bali. Another Indonesian poet Joko Pinurbo
\nchanged the atmosphere with his comical poems, a trilogy of
\nverses on Trousers, Newspaper Boys and Debt.<\/p>\n
The three-day festival in Surakarta revived enthusiasm for
\nliterature with the appearance of local poet Sosiawan Leak who
\ncharmed the audience with his excellent control of the stage.<\/p>\n
In his Diorama, Sosiawan, also a dramatist, tried to portray a
\npoem as a witness to a locked-up conscience.<\/p>\n
As for the poems presented by other Indonesian poets,
\nparticularly senior poets like Abdul Hadi W.M., Darmanto Jatman
\nand Sapardi Djoko Damono, largely dwell on Muslim subjects such
\nas God, Sufiism, humanism, human nature, life and more.<\/p>\n
In general, there is yet a clear direction to result from a
\ngathering of international poets. It is yet to be discussed how
\nthe theme of Getting Together for Peace and Friendship can be
\nrealized. However, as the meeting successfully brought together
\npoems of many nations, this undertaking is worthy of a thumbs up.<\/p>",
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