Poetry, short story books reveal world according to children
Poetry, short story books reveal world according to children
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Terbang (Flying): A Compilation of Best Poems
Designed by Saritaksu Editions
Lintang Tabloid, pub.
3 Kucing kecil (3 Small Cats): What do the children of Bali write about in poetry and short
stories when given a blank sheet of paper to describe their
world? The answers could be found in two compelling compilations of
the best poems and short stories by Balinese children who were
finalists in the Poetry Writing Competition for the Children of
Bali 2005. Organized jointly by the Ubud-based Saraswati Foundation for
the Arts and Lintang children's tabloid, the competition was
aimed at honing children's creative writing skills and
imagination. It is indeed encouraging to read the minds of today's
children, who are exposed to a wide array of high-tech video
games, entertainment gadgets and commercialism through the
nation's television industry -- all of which have distracted many
of the younger generation from enhancing their interest in
reading and writing. Elementary school students across the island were given an
opportunity through the competition to express their childhood
and genuine feelings, and the 10 winning poems plus 20 other
runners-up were printed in Terbang, or Flying. As a counterpart
to the poetry anthology, a collection of short stories titled 3
(Tiga) Kucing Kecil, or 3 (Three) Little Cats was produced
concurrently. The bilingual poetry anthology -- the English version of which
was translated by Kadek Krishna Adidharma -- features 30 poems
bearing themes from animals to forests, from emotions to their
daily lives, and from disaster to the dangers of narcotics, and
to their dreams. In Terbang, Ni Made Sanistiawati from SDN I Karangasem State
Elementary School in East Bali expresses her desire to fly to the
moon: Though I am not a butterfly/Not a bird and Not a bumblebee/I
will Fly/Pierce clouds, reach the moon/chase stars with an
aeroplane. Another expressive poem is Lonely. Written by Giovanna Prajatri Surialim, a fourth grader at SDK
Saint Yoseph Catholic elementary school in Denpasar, the poem
expresses a little girl's loneliness at being a single child
living in a big house: My house is big, my backyard wide, my neighbors distant/To the
guest room, I meet TV/to the kitchen, I meet Mama/to the bedroom,
I meet doll./No little brother, no uncle, no aunty/no grandma and
grandpa, not even any servants./How lonely. Several poems even touch upon current issues like the tsunami
disaster of December 2004, narcotics and the Indonesian people's
reaction to recent calamities. Yet, these poems seem slightly too
"adult" to come from the pens of elementary school students --
perhaps a result of too much exposure to government slogans, news
broadcasts and advertising gimmicks. Mas Ruscita Dewi, chief editor of Lintang Tabloid, was
surprised to receive about 700 poems and hundreds of short
stories as submissions to the competition. "From an early age, the children of Bali are familiar with
art. They are used to hearing the sound of a gamelan orchestra,
to swaying dancers performing traditional Balinese dances and
skilled painters stroking their canvases with colorful paints,"
she said. However, she continued, it was highly unusual to find local
children expressing their innermost feelings articulately and
eloquently in the written word. The short story collection, translated by Kora Amalwati, also
features 10 winning short stories and 20 runner-up entries. The themes of the short stories vary from My Grandpa and His
Rooster "Buik", The Miracles of Braces, Hand Phone (mobile
phone), The Meaning of Friendship and other interesting subject
matter. Janet De Neefe, director of the Saraswati Foundation -- and
director of the recently concluded Ubud Writers and Readers
Festival 2005 -- commented that publishing these two volumes was
a part of the foundation's commitment to supporting the creative
writing of Balinese children. "It is our mission to develop a space in the world of writing
for our children, and bring them from an environment that has
been severely limited in opportunity into the vast world of
international writing," De Neefe said. She also urged other parties including the media, schools and,
most importantly, families to provide more opportunity for
children to express themselves. The two books are encased in illustrated covers, also by
children. The Terbang/Flying cover features the work of Danny
Septarika, a student at Denpasar's TKB3 Anugrah kindergarten, and
3 Kucing Kecil/3 Small Cats features an anonymous work. Unfortunately, the graphic designs for both covers obstruct
the original drawings and the moods they convey, with the titles
placed in the middle of the children's illustrations. Excepting this small technical shortcoming, the two
anthologies are truly worth reading, giving an idea of Balinese
children's creative potential and their perspective on the
modern-day world.
A Compilation of Short Stories
Designed by Saritaksu Editions