New journal to tap into poetry's pulse

By Dini S. Djalal

JAKARTA (JP): Remmy Novaris is a poet. He has been one for half of his 39 years, has never thought of changing professions and centers his entire livelihood on writing poetry.

Poets in Indonesia? Doesn't this constitute an anomaly in a country with more than 20 million adult illiterates and an ailing publishing industry largely dependent on tabloids and teen magazines?

Absolutely not, say Remmy and Sapardi Djoko Damono, chief editor of new poetry journal Puisi, launched last Monday at Taman Ismail Marzuki. Both men insist that demand for poetry here should not be underestimated.

"I make a decent living writing poetry," said Remmy. He receives up to Rp 250,000 (US$87) per poem, which he submits to different newspapers and magazines. He makes on average of Rp 1 million a month. In fact, Remmy says, he's not able to fulfill his clients' requests all the time.

Remmy admits his chosen vocation has not been without hardship. "To make it as a poet, you need not only talent, but perseverance and continuity. Both for me and my peers, there are a lot of temptations to leave the world of literature. Many of my colleagues have switched careers to become scriptwriters."

But Remmy defied the odds. He continued submitting his poems to publications. It paid off -- today he doesn't have to look for patrons, they look for him.

First step

These patrons can now pick up the latest copy of Puisi to find more poets. This first edition features the works of 15 Indonesian poets and three Russian poets, as well as reviews of poetry compilations, including a German-produced and translated compact disc with works by Gunawan Mohamad, Rendra, Taufiq Ismail and others. Showcased are not only poets such as Remmy Novaris, Ayatrohaedy, and Gus tf, but also literature professor Benny Hoed, publisher of cultural journal Kolong Dorothea Rosa Herliany, artist Acep Zamzam Noor and anthropologist M. Junus Melalatoa.

The poems themselves are impressive, dispelling expectations of sentimental drivel, jingoistic hollering or religious sermonizing. The range is inspiring: Benny Hoed's thrifty verses offer respite from I. Yudhi Soenarto's repetitive narrative. Those who drop dimes for rhymes are well satiated here, particularly as Indonesian grammar structure has many words with similar suffix, such as -an, -nya, or -i, and many words often end in vowels, for example kata (word), warna (color), and pagi (morning).

But convention does not dictate the anthology's format. More promising are works which dispense with iambic pentameters and other poetry protocol, and rather assemble the words according to individual aesthetics. Gus tf, for example, applies punctuation marks liberally, interrupting the flow of words in a line. It's an effective technique, as poetry is as much for visual appreciation as it is for verbal enjoyment. After all, the man on the street is more likely to relish poems at home than at poetry recitals.

Listening pleasure

Yet poetry is a listening pleasure. M. Junus Melalatoa's epic Luluku Sumba-ku, a lyrical ethnographic window to Sumba island's cultural and physical landscape, repeats key phrases insistently, building a tribal rhythm that intensifies to its narrative denouement. The use of many native Sumba words adds to its rustic ambience.

Written last year, Melalatoa's poem has a fresh feel despite its traditional theme. But some of the other poems, particularly those by Zainal Muttaqien and Ayatrohaedy, seem to have accumulated 20 and 10 years of dust, respectively. Couldn't the editors publish more recent works?

"It's really difficult gathering good submissions. It's the journal's biggest problem," Sapardi told The Jakarta Post. The former editor of several magazines can vouch that good writers are rare. "Money we can always find, but good writing? Maybe the writers don't want to send in their better works," he joked. Sapardi added that one edition requires a budget of Rp 3 million to Rp 5 million.

The potential for poetry is there, insists Sapardi, but it's just a matter of stirring the potential from dormancy. Sapardi denied that Indonesia's youth were too caught up in electronic media such as MTV to pay attention to the printed page.

"It's a cliche to say that the young don't like literature," he said. "Thousands of teenagers submit poems to teen magazines. And people who write poems are people who read poems."

Sapardi admits that books are not widely read in Indonesia, but explains that Indonesia's contemporary literary history has been centered around the mass media. "From long ago, our literature has always been newspaper and magazine literature. Books may not sell so well, but short stories are very popular."

The printed media is accordingly well aware of the public's poetry appreciation. Look at the major newspapers and magazines, Sapardi says, and there are columns set aside for poetry. "That they're willing to sacrifice advertising space shows extraordinary commitment," he said.

Right now, Sapardi's biggest concern is not how the public will receive Puisi, but rather if the public will receive Puisi. "My only promise is that we will publish regularly," Sapardi said to the crowd during the opening. After the applause died down, he expressed fears of a dearth of poems.

"Lots of people promise to send in their poems, but they haven't done it yet!," Sapardi said. What about his own works? "Oh no, I send my poems elsewhere!" he joked.