Sutardji wins literary award for his dedication to 'words'

JAKARTA (JP): Poet Sutardji Calzoum Bachri is the recipient of the second Chairil Anwar Literary Award and its prize of Rp 25 million, the head of the Directorate for the Arts' Literary Committee announced at the weekend.

Slamet Soekirnanto said Sutardji would be awarded the lifetime achievement award at an official ceremony at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, this Friday.

Mochtar Lubis, the only other recipient of the award, was honored in 1992.

Chairil (1922-1949) is considered among the country's foremost poets.

"He has given new life, blood and form to the old pantun-style poetry," Slamet said of Sutardji's use of a poetry form of Sundanese origin, combining literature, storytelling, music and singing.

The five-member jury considered Sutardji's collection of poems O Amuk, Kapak (1966-1979) among his most notable. Jury members were the director of the Directorate for the Arts, Saini KM; head of the Jakarta Arts Council, Salim Said; professor of literature at the University of Indonesia, Riris Toha Sarumpaet; literary critic and professor of the school of literature at Gadjah Mada University, Faruk HT, and cultural observer Ignas Kleden.

Among the 18 nominees were Umar Kayam, Rendra, Goenawan Mohamad, Ahmad Tohari, Putu Wijaya, Danarto, Seno Gumira Ajidarma and Sapardi Djoko Damono.

Ignas told the media that "after making a shortlist of four, the jury narrowed it down to two names, Sapardi and Sutardji".

Sutardji was chosen from the two because he dedicated "his entire life to lyricism, literature and poetry, without indulging in or having any other side business".

According to Slamet, Sutardji began a new literary phenomenon by "robbing words of their meaning but at the same time sustaining the sacred allure... like when one recites a mantra."

Sutardji's works published in anthologies include Parade Puisi Indonesia (Indonesian Poetry Parade), the 36th and 37th editions of the Journal of South Asian Literature in 1993 and last year's two-volume Panen Raya Puisi Indonesia (The Harvesting of Indonesian Poetry).

Preceding the presentation of the Chairil Anwar Award will be the award ceremony for the winner of the romance novel-writing contest. An editor of local cultural journal Jurnal Kebudayaan Kalam, Ayu Utami of Jakarta, beat 68 other contestants with her entry Saman to win Rp 7.5 million.

Jury members were Sapardi Djoko Damono, Faruk HT and Ignas Kleden.

Sapardi agreed with Kleden that Ayu's novel revolving around a Catholic priest seeking to help an insane village woman against the backdrop of "a power structure of industrious tycoons" was "spellbinding".

Second place went to Ruslan Pe Amanriza of Pekanbaru, Riau, and third was Jakarta journalist Korrie Layun Rampan.

Honorable mention went to Zoya Herawati of Surabaya, East Java and Taufik Ikram Jamil of Pekanbaru.

The Chairil Anwar Literary Award, the nationwide playwriting and romance novel-writing contests are part of a Rp 1 billion program funded by the National Development Planning Board and the Ministry of Home Affairs to promote traditional theater, music, literature, film and dance.

The playwriting and romance novel-writing contests, earlier held annually by the Jakarta Arts Council from 1975 to 1981, were revived late last November. The Chairil Anwar Literary award show, after its inception in 1992, was hampered by financial problems.

Winners of the playwriting contest will be announced this afternoon. (02)