London recital surprises poet Isma

London recital surprises poet Isma

By Sori Siregar

JAKARTA (JP): Applause should not always follow a poetry
reading. There are places and times in which poetry readings are
enjoyed by an audience as a spiritual experience. They listen to
the reading and try to catch the very meaning of the poems read.
It would be more interesting if an audience had the opportunity
to listen to poems read in their original languages before their
translation.

A well-known poet, Isma Sawitri, disclosed this after
returning home from a poetry reading on April 2 at the Voice Box,
in London's Royal Festival Hall. She was the first Indonesian
poet invited to take part in a reading together with three other
poets, all women, from Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines in
an evening called Poetry from Southeast Asia.

Isma deserved the invitation for the prestigious reading,
since her poems are considered important in the Indonesian
literary world and have been published widely in literary
journals such as Sastra and Horison.

A leading poet here, she is representative of a long period
spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over this period of time
she has exhibited a strong spirit of exploration. Like her fellow
poets, she has become the conscience of her country.

The exclusive poetry reading -- arranged to coincide with the
second Asian and European meeting of heads of governments and
with the Annual Conference of the Association of Southeast Asian
Studies in Britain -- was also a new experience for Isma who had
rarely appeared in poetry readings in her own country.

Voice Box itself is a room able to seat 77 people and the
poetry reading was only one of several similar occasions. The
atmosphere was quite formal -- something Isma was not quite
prepared for.

"I was surprised when the reading took place. There was no
picture-taking when a poet read her poems and no applause when a
poet finished her reading. Everyone was silent as if they were
lost in deep thought and highly admired the poems," said Isma,
whose poems have been translated into a number of languages.

Isma's comment was confirmed in the coffee break.
Other poets and the rest of the audience discussed the poems,
their messages and the writing process. Talks extended to the
beauty of the original languages of the poems and the deep
meaning they could get from their translation.

Except for minor mistakes made in the translation of her
works, Isma was satisfied with the difficult job of Nigel
Phillips from the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London, which organized the reading.

"Luckily Isma pointed the mistakes to me," said Nigel.

Isma, who had prepared seven poems for the reading, only
regretted the 15 minutes allocated for each reader and her
translator.

However, for Isma, whose journalistic reports have appeared in
many national newspapers and magazines including the banned Tempo
magazine, her presence in the reading was a good experience and
an honor since she was the first Indonesian poet invited to such
an event.

One of her impressions was that poetry reading could take
place much the same as a chamber music event. It could be
organized for a very selected few who came to see the reading as
a necessity.

The experience differed strikingly from poetry readings Isma
was used to in Jakarta, where people applause spontaneously and
cheer when a poet ends the reading. More often than not, some in
the audience shout happily when the poem read is seen as
representing their aspirations and ideals.

Isma, born Nov. 21, 1940 in Langsa, Aceh, has written on many
themes. Some carry angry tones, while several are cynical or
relay wishes, remembrances or reflections.

In her poem Conversations about Death, for example, her
courage in facing death is portrayed strongly in the conversation
of two characters as follows:

If only a person could choose the best way to die

I would die like a fighting cock, quickly, and not in bed.

You mean with your body drenched in blood?

Yes, and what's wrong with that?

In London, one of her fervent wishes was voiced distinctly
through her poem The Engineer's Memo.

Why not realize huge projects?

Why not make mountains embrace each other?

Why shouldn't we carve up nature so long as we hug the earth

then let the ground tremble, the jungle be pushed aside,

the rivers diverted

the towns grow and dazzle

the villages divided, the villages disappear

the water foam out of safety gates

the bridges stretch out, the flyovers criss-cross

and the old map of this country be thrown away.

What's wrong with it?

A former literary committee member of the Jakarta Arts Council
a decade ago, Isma seems eager for the council to hold similar
poetry readings so the audience can better appreciate the
readings. She says it should be made a new trend and an
alternative to the reading attended by huge audiences where
sometimes the cheers and applause disturb the concentration of a
poet. Why not? What's wrong with that?

The writer is a novelist and has written several short stories.