Enjoying the night with Indonesian-German poems
By Wawan S. Husin
BANDUNG (JP): The night was dark yet the stars were still peeping from behind the trees as about one hundred and fifty listeners, mostly artists and students of the German language, packed the French Cultural Center's auditorium in Bandung.
That night, they mainly came to watch two poets, Berthold Damshauser, a lecturer of Asian Studies in Bonn University, and Soni Farid Maulana of Bandung recite the poems of both Indonesian and German poets.
About 25 poems from both countries, including well-known works by Indonesian poets, such as Aku (I) by Chairil Anwar and Siapakah Engkau (Who are you) by Sapardi Joko Damono, were brought to stage while Soni presented about eight of his own poems.
From Germany, the poems presented during the bilingual poetry reading on Aug. 4 included Berlin by Christian Morgenstern (1871- 1914), Kurfurstendamm by Karl Willy Starub (1880-1971), Besuch vom Lande by Erich Kastner (1899-1974) and five poems by Damshauser himself. Three students also took part in the poetry reading.
The event, collaborative venture by the French Cultural Center and the Bandung-based Goethe Institute, received a warm response from students.
"The event is very impressive since we as students can learn how the language when used as a medium of expression becomes imbued with such beauty. The involvement of a native-speaking reader is also beneficial. It's like learning by listening, or by doing," said Dinar, a student.
The way the poems were presented, in two languages, was applauded by other artists who came to the event.
"From the language and esthetic points of view, bilingual poems are interesting since they help the audience to appreciate and understand both (German and Indonesian poems)," said Ahda, a local poet. "And Damshauser is a serious artist and his works are worth listening to."
Soni is known for his six collections of poems, including Sehabis Hujan (After the Rain) and Kita ini Hanya Dongengan (We're Merely Tales), and as a productive writer. The works of the man, who has dedicated 16 years of his time to literature, can be found in various media.
Apart from being a poet himself, Damshauser has also translated several works of renowned German poets. His translated work includes Kau Datang Padaku (You Came to Me), an anthology of German poems of the 20th Century, which he translated in collaboration with Ramadhan KH.
The anthology contains translated works by monumental German poets and thinkers, such as Friedrich Nietsche, Detlev Liliencron, Ax Darthendey, Rainer Maria Rilke, Peter Hanke, Wolf Biermann and Mathias Schreber. The title of the anthology is also the title of a poem written by Richarda Huch (1864-1947), Du kamst zu mir.
Now, Damshauser, who is an editor of Orientierungen -- a magazine focusing on Asian culture including Indonesia, is preparing a bilingual translation for another work, Jakarta Berlin dalam Puisi dan Prosa (Jakarta Berlin in Poems and Proses) with Dian Apsari.
A piece by Sony, Katarsis (Catharsis) was the highlight of the night. "... I was diving in the stillness of stones/Diving in a drop of dew on a twig of lead/ Diving in the stillness of universe/ That flows the sincere and the silent/To my inner heart...." Out of appreciation for the poem, Damshauser delivered it in his mother tongue.