Nationalism: Elevating Literature, Elevating the Nation

Literary nationalism is gentle and profound. It does not force, but invites. It does not make everything uniform, but fosters mutual understanding.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Literature is not merely a collection of words, nor a classroom subject to be memorised. It is a philosophical record of a nation’s civilisation and culture. Literature is a space in which we, both as individuals and collectively, discover our existence.

Literature is often considered unimportant: a matter of feelings, a hobby or an escape, and far less significant than economics, technology and other fields. Yet literature is a space for the soul: a simulation of a nation’s thoughts and spirit. The state should recognise that literature is inseparable from civilisation, culture and the life of the nation as a whole.

For that reason, literature in this country must be accorded greater standing. To elevate literature is to elevate the nation. The following are key proposals for raising the status of Indonesian literature.

First, Indonesian Literature should be separated from Indonesian Language as a subject at every level of education. At present, literature is merely an adjunct to language lessons. Pupils are rarely taught to understand the meaning and awareness behind stories, poetry or drama. If literature were a subject in its own right, there would be greater scope to explore the wisdom and humanist messages within it.

In an existential sense, literature would teach young people not merely to “use language”, but to be sensitive to its meaning, understand other people’s experiences and know their nation’s identity. The state must act to raise the standing of literature, which has long been treated as a “stepchild”. As things stand, we are losing an honest space in which to understand the traces of our national culture.

Second, the state must be willing to make sacrifices. This means allocating adequate resources, time and attention, and recognising that investment in literature is not wasteful but an investment in the quality of our humanity and in patriotism for the future.

If the state focuses only on economic and infrastructure development while neglecting the “development of literature”, the nation will eventually suffer a poverty of meaning. Policies that support the literary world would show an understanding that a nation’s survival requires not only physical sustenance but also nourishment for the soul: stories, ideas, beauty and truths found in literary works.

Third, professional writers must be able to live well. One of the biggest misconceptions is that writers “must be poor” and suffer in order to produce great work. In my view, writers should be able to earn a decent living from their work. This is a logical consequence of achievement, as it is in other fields.

When writers are prosperous, they can work calmly, honestly and independently. They no longer have to create simply to put food on the table, and can “speak” freely. In an existential sense, a writer who is financially secure can be honest and free in addressing life without fearing the loss of their livelihood. Ensuring writers’ welfare is equivalent to protecting a nation’s freedom of thought.

Fourth, there should be subsidies for publishing literary books. The publishing industry is often governed by economic forces: books that sell get published, while those deemed “unlikely to sell” are rejected, even when they have considerable value. This is where state subsidies are needed. Publishing subsidies are a way to ensure that substantial but less popular works can still be produced and made accessible to the public.