RI-Dutch poetry fiesta gets limited applause<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Dari Priok ke Kota: aduh mak, macetnya,
\nmacetnya! (From Priok to downtown Kota, oww, such a jam, such a
\njam!)<\/p>\n
Hamid Jabbar's poem Permutasi Mas Merdeka was read at the
\nIndonesian-Dutch Poetry Festival held at the Dutch Cultural
\nCenter, Erasmus Huis in South Jakarta, from Sept. 4 to 6.<\/p>\n
Jabbar provoked comments, laughter and much applause when he
\nrecited the poem for the first time at Chairil Anwar Plaza at
\nMonumen National (Monas) Park on Aug. 15. However, his reading
\nonly got polite applause at Erasmus Huis. The poem hadn't
\nsuddenly lost its power, but, because the audience consisted of
\nIndonesians and expatriates, Jabbar's poem fell somewhat flat.<\/p>\n
Despite the poems universal theme of modernization, it is very
\nlocal. It looks at things very familiar to anyone who regularly
\nreads newspaper: the country's debt, conglomerates, smugglers,
\nthe stock exchange, the paper shortage, the Internet, forest
\nfires and World Bank funds. The chaos the poem describes can only
\ntruly be felt, however, by those who have ventured into Tanjung
\nPriok and Kota in North and West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The language Jabbar uses to emphasize the havoc is not
\nstandard Indonesian. He employs Jakartan slang and mixes in
\nJapanese terms. Even Indonesians not familiar with Jakartan slang
\nmight not catch all the meanings, let alone foreigners.<\/p>\n
No wonder the applause was limited.<\/p>\n
The festival, opened by former minister of culture and
\neducation Fuad Hassan, was jointly organized by Erasmus Huis and
\npoet W.S. Rendra's theater group Bengkel Teater.<\/p>\n
The festival featured six Indonesian poets, Diah Hadaning,
\nDorothea Rosa Herliany, Hamid Jabbar, Afrizal Malna, Acep Zamzam
\nNoor and Sitok Srengenge; and six Belgian and Dutch poets, Jaap
\nBlonk, Remco Campert, Herman de Coninck, Anna Enquist, Esther
\nJansma and Simon Vinkenoog.<\/p>\n
Although allowing Indonesian poets to meet their counterparts
\nfrom other countries is a very good idea, extra effort is
\nnecessary to make the performance interesting for people from
\ndifferent language groups.<\/p>\n
Translations could help. But the Dutch poems were poorly
\ntranslated into Indonesian. Translating other forms of
\nliterature, such as short stories, is never easy. Translating
\npoems must be done with even more care.<\/p>\n
Providing a narrator to explain the background of a poem might
\nhelp the mixed audience understand more.<\/p>\n
It was a nice try. (als)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-dutch-poetry-fiesta-gets-limited-applause-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }