Sitok Srengenge launches a poetry anthology

Sitok Srengenge launches a poetry anthology

Indonesian poet Sitok Srengenge signs a copy of his dual-language
anthology, On Nothing, for a fan. The anthology was
launched on Sunday evening at Murni's Warung in Ubud, Bali,
during the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2005.

Australian poet-musician Jan Cornall, who also co-edited the
book, opened with an anecdote of her introduction to Sitok at a
Sydney writers festival a few years ago: "I was introduced to
Sitok through (QB World Books owner and publisher) Richard Oh,
who said, 'You've got to come meet Sitok. He's one of Indonesia's
best living poets'. Of course, we Aussies went, 'Yeah, yeah' --
but it turned out, he was right."

On Nothing, a collection comprising about 20 years of Sitok's
work and printed by the poet's own, recently established
publishing company, Kata Kita, contains both structured and
unstructured poetry, and delves into themes connected to the
human condition, such as love, motherhood, childbirth and racism.

Sitok read three poems from the anthology, followed by
Cornall's reading in English. The evening ended on a musical
note, with Cornall singing his Dance of Eucalyptus and Lover of
the Sky to original compositions inspired by the poetry.

-- JP/Chisato Hara