Sitor expresses thoughts with relish<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sitor Situmorang, one of Indonesia's most famous
\npoets, spoke about all the places he has lived in. Los Angeles,
\nNew York, The Hague, Islamabad, Paris. He listed them off in an
\ninterview with nonchalance, and referred to them as \"settings\" or
\n\"stimulants\" rather than home addresses.<\/p>\n
When asked about his current abode, he said that he was a
\nresident of the Netherlands who commuted back and forth to Paris
\nand, before that, of Pakistan. Sitor referred to the Netherlands
\nas his \"official domicile,\" not once did he say it was his home.<\/p>\n
It's a little surprising that this great traveler should find
\nthe concept of home difficult to grasp. This is a man who, at the
\nbeginning of the New Order in 1966, spent eight years in prison
\nwithout trial. Then two years under house arrest before he moved
\nto Europe to lecture at Leiden University. This is a man who
\nwrites vivid vignettes of life on the road.<\/p>\n
Yet even more vivid are his poems inspired by the place of his
\nbirth, Harianboho village near Lake Toba in North Sumatra.
\nIndeed, Sitor says that he is struck by how potent the Batak
\nlandscape and experience remains in his mind and how he keeps
\nreferring to his Batak childhood even when removed by thousands
\nof miles and nearly six decades.<\/p>\n
\"All I have to tell while jet-setting are certain emotional
\nthings from my childhood which I have internalized,\" said Sitor.
\nSitor's poems include his home which needs no physical address to
\nbe real.<\/p>\n
Sitor is 73, but shows little sign of old age as he is
\noccasionally argumentative and mentally and physically brisk. He
\nexpresses his thoughts with relish but also with deliberation and
\ncontemplation, indicating an intellect always in search of a
\nbetter, more truthful answer.<\/p>\n
While reading his poetry onstage last week at Rendra's studio
\nin Cipayung, West Java, he shuffled his feet to and fro, his
\nphysical being seemingly as restless as his mind.<\/p>\n
Sitor will perform again at Cemara 6 Gallery tomorrow before
\nreturning to Europe. But if you miss him this time, you can wait
\nfor the October launch of a new English-language anthology of
\nSitor's works, To Love, To Wander, translated by John McGlynn and
\npublished by the Lontar Foundation.<\/p>\n
The following are excerpts from the interview.<\/p>\n
Question: Do you feel there is a high appreciation for poetry
\ntoday?<\/p>\n
Answer: I personally have no reason to complain that there is
\nno interest in poetry. My books issued by Indonesian publishers
\nare always sold out... And poetry related to traditional oral
\nculture is still strong. It doesn't have to take the form of what
\nwe modern poets and writers see as contemporary, there is much
\ngoing on outside the so-called official modern world of
\nIndonesian poetry and prose. I never see myself as the only
\nexpression that is meaningful to the cultural life of the nation.
\nThere are many, many forms, like songs, reading of oral
\nliterature at the village level, ritual expressions, whereby the
\nlanguage is used according to criteria of beauty. This is a whole
\nscene we should not lose sight of... I am always conscious of my
\nplace.<\/p>\n
Q: How would you describe your poetry?<\/p>\n
A: I would like my poetry to be easily understood. I admire the
\ndirectness and simpleness of folk poetry, but I can't repeat oral
\ntraditions since I live in the modern world. If I read my poetry
\nto a village man, it would sound nonsense to him. I would like my
\npoetry to be understood by everyone.<\/p>\n
Q: You were once politically active. How do you feel about
\ncurrent politics here and the democracy movement?<\/p>\n
A: Any state in 1997 faces the challenge of democratization. You
\ncan't build a modern economy that stays efficient because of the
\ndemocratic system. I am not an economist, but you can start
\nsomething without the formal trappings of democracy. Yet when
\neconomic growth allows this modernization to start, you have to
\nstart accepting democracy. You can have short-term growth based
\non the tightening of laborers' belts, but if this is a permanent
\nfeature of the economy, then there's something wrong. I'm an
\nobserver now, and I see there is a lot of labor unrest. This
\nshows consciousness of democratization, and a result of
\nmodernization.<\/p>\n
Q: You were very active with the Indonesian Nationalist Party
\n(PNI, which merged with other parties to become the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party -- PDI). Do you consider yourself a PDI
\nsupporter?<\/p>\n
A: I was a member of PNI since I was 23 years old. But PDI is not
\nPNI. PNI vanished into PDI, and the establishment of PDI
\nindirectly abolished PNI. Normally, however, I do vote for PDI.<\/p>\n
Q: Are you still pro-Sukarno?<\/p>\n
A: That's historically true. But Sukarno means so many things to
\nso many people. I'm pro-Sukarno but according to what Sukarno
\nmeans to me. When I call myself a nationalist, I always refer to
\nSukarno's legacy, the 1945 Constitution, his failures and his
\nsuccesses, as a reference point for my view on politics... There
\nare many negative ideas on Sukarno today, but I need this
\nhistorical approach. To say pro- or anti-Sukarno is too vague.
\nIt's more productive ask what did he do, to refer objectively to
\nwhat he did at crucial moments in Indonesian history. We must try
\nto refrain from character assassination only.<\/p>\n
Q: And your opinion of Megawati?<\/p>\n
A: Megawati in space and time is not Sukarno. Megawati may not be
\ncharismatic, but some groups project charisma onto her. But the
\ncharisma factor will lessen in importance. The challenge now is
\nhow to deal with this role, not in terms of ideology, but in
\nterms of practical politics. To get involved in politics is to do
\nwhat is possible, not impossible. Will Megawati create a
\nleadership based on real ability or just charisma?<\/p>\n
Q: You were imprisoned for a long time for allegedly subversive
\nactivities. Do you feel bitter now?<\/p>\n
A: No. While in jail it was a bitter experience. But after my
\nrelease, I came to see it as part of my personal growth. I
\nlearned to look at it philosophically. Although at that moment,
\nphysically, of course there was bitterness (laughs).<\/p>\n
Q: Pramoedya spent his time in prison keeping his writing alive
\nby reciting his stories to fellow inmates. Did you do the same?<\/p>\n
A: Writing was totally forbidden, and reading was restricted to
\nreligious texts. We were not allowed anything, including pencils.
\nI recited some poems to myself, to memorize them, but I could not
\nmemorize even my own poems. I'm not like Rendra, I have no
\nability to memorize like him. So I couldn't proceed with my
\nideas... but thankfully, after my release, some dead ideas came
\nback and took form.<\/p>\n
Q: You were once a journalist. Why did you stop?<\/p>\n
A: I was a journalist at the time of the revolution, from 1945 to
\n1950. In fact, my last day as a journalist was spent reporting
\nthe transfer of sovereignty from the Dutch to Sukarno. It was
\nDec. 29, 1949. Why did I stop? I had literary ambitions.<\/p>\n
Q: I read that you also studied cinematography in the United
\nStates...<\/p>\n
A: In 1956, I received a grant to study cinematography at the
\nUniversity of Southern California. At the time, I was teaching
\ncriticism at The National Theater Academy of Indonesia. I was not
\nplanning to be a cineast, but thought I should know as much as
\npossible about film-making techniques to expand my knowledge as a
\ncritic. I didn't want to just watch films.<\/p>\n
Q: You also attracted a lot of controversy by writing a polemic
\nwith Gunawan Mohamad on the cultural manifesto. Can you explain?<\/p>\n
A: I don't like to talk about this in these conditions. I feel
\nthat thirty-five years after the polemic, there is still no
\natmosphere for a real objective attitude to certain positions
\ntaken by one group vis-a-vis another group. It's still too much
\nwhere I say something, Pramoedya says something, and it's taken
\nin context where one is thought of as having historical truth.
\nNow Gunawan is trying to create an atmosphere where we can talk
\nmore objectively about polemics. But I feel that after 35 years,
\nthere is still animosity and hate.<\/p>\n
Q: You talked earlier about having literary ambitions. Do you
\nfeel you've now achieved those ambitions?<\/p>\n
A: That's a big question! I received the first big response to my
\npoetry in 1953, that made me feel confident. Forty-five years
\nlater, if somebody asks me what I do, I say that I have no job.
\nIf they insist, I will say that I write. Is this not a job? No.
\nFirstly because it doesn't pay. I've never felt like I could
\nprovide for my family. It's a calling, not a job.<\/p>\n
Q: And after living so many years abroad, do you still feel
\nconnected to Indonesia?<\/p>\n
A: I miss knowing what's going on with literary developments,
\nwith new writers. My knowledge is now too fragmented. When I
\ntaught at Leiden, I had access to Indonesian magazines and
\nnewspapers, but even then it was not enough... Yet I always felt
\na psychological and cultural bond to Indonesia, although now I
\nget this queer feeling when reading newspapers and not
\nunderstanding some of the new Indonesian words and definitely the
\nabbreviations (laughs).<\/p>\n
Q: Would you consider moving back?<\/p>\n
A: I am a wanderer in the technical sense. The historian Taufiq
\nAbdullah once said, \"wander around until it becomes like home\". I
\nwish it was true. It's true in the physical sense, that you have
\nto adjust to your surroundings, and there's no way back to Lake
\nToba! It is my hope that he means this in terms of being an
\nIndonesian citizen in the modern sense. But then comes the aspect
\nof globalization. Am I a world citizen or just an Indonesian
\nexpat in the Netherlands? And am I still a Batak?... In my
\nculture, at this age, you are supposed to undergo this rite of
\npassage where you retreat, meditate and distance yourself from
\nworldly things. My relatives are preparing me for this and to
\nreturn here. I would like to come back, but there are
\npracticalities. I don't have a pension here, I don't have a
\nhouse. I would be a big nuisance for my family after a lifetime
\nof not providing for them. In my family I am an upholder of
\ntradition but always an absent one.<\/p>\n
Q: So do you feel more Batak than Indonesian?<\/p>\n
A: To me, there is no difference between being Batak and being
\nIndonesian. If I had no insight on being Batak, I would have no
\ninsight on being Indonesian... However, I noticed that all my
\nthemes refer back to my early childhood, from the age of five to
\n18. I keep moving but the places are settings, stimulants. Not
\nevery poet will agree with me but I think a poet keeps groping
\nback to absorb the spiritual and emotional reserve accumulated in
\nhis childhood. I lived at the edge of Lake Toba, and any corner
\nof that country I can see, it pops up in my poetry like spiritual
\ngeography.<\/p>",
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