Traveling poets give door-to-door readings
By Agus Maryono
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): The two young men shuffled slightly, politely asking permission as they came in the door at an office on Jl. Jenderal Soedirman in the town.
Dressed in modest clothing of casual shirts, pants and sandals, they proceeded to open a little book and read aloud several poems. They also read poems by Afrizal Malna, taken from Pikiran Rakyat daily in West Java.
There was a common theme to the verses -- the crisis besetting the nation.
At the end of their performance, the men stopped and extended a polite apology to the employees, who had gathered in the front of the room to hear the impromptu "show".
"We're so very sorry if our uninvited visit here has disturbed you. We only hope for whatever you can give us. Thank you beforehand," said Budi Reksa Pranata, 25.
Some of the people gathered in the lobby of the office handed over money to them, ranging from Rp 500 to Rp 1,000, with the men uttering their thanks.
After they left the office, Budi told The Jakarta Post he was from Tegal regency in Central Java but he and his friend were members of the Pawon theater group, which specializes in poetry recitals, in Yogyakarta.
The men began reading poems for contributions -- Budi unashamedly called it "begging" -- to improve their craft as good poets and gain confidence in performing before an audience.
They have traveled to cities in Central Java for the past year. They feel that the more door-to-door shows they do, the better they will become in performing on a real stage.
"We believe that with a broad mentality we could express our poems as well as possible, especially in our later shows. And we also believe that through begging like this we become part of a process which broadens our mental horizons," Budi said.
"Besides that we also need funds for our theater living because we have no money at all now. We couldn't live without funds which are needed to express ourselves as poets in shows."
He acknowledged that sometimes the reception to their efforts was hostile.
Instead of applause and contributions, the men are greeted by insults, with people ridiculing their efforts or doubting their intentions.
"But it's something that we have to accept. It is perhaps part of the education process of our mentality," Budi said philosophically.
Their income varies, depending on the generosity of those they visit.
"Sometimes we get up to Rp 30,000 a day. But we also often get only Rp 5,000 a day", said Budi.
They have traveled to cities such as Semarang, Pekalongan, Cilacap, Purbalingga, Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Accommodation in the various areas often consists of sleeping in mosques or roughing it outside.
The money they collect is used for poetry shows organized by Pawon Theater around Tegal.
"We do our shows with the money gotten by begging we are driven to do it," Budi said. "We couldn't get funds from other sources to produce our poetry shows."
Nevertheless, he is trying other ways to gain funding. He has sent proposals to the office of the education and culture ministry in Tegal.
Unfortunately, they were returned without any explanation of why they were rejected..
Budi, who has been admitted to Panca Sakti University in Tegal, said he would continue the "performances" until he considered himself a poet and a performer.
"We are sure we will get what we want although it means begging door to door. And even though some people have insulted us, we'll stick to our poems," Budi said.