Writer Rosidi devotes life to 'serious' literature

Writer Rosidi devotes life to 'serious' literature

By Mulyo Sanyoto

JAKARTA (ANTARA): Writer Ajip Rosidi celebrated his 60th
birthday on Jan. 31, perhaps content in the knowledge he has
done much to enrich national and regional literary wealth.

Born in Jatiwangi, Cirebon, West Java, Rosidi was only 14 when
he had his first poems published in then leading publications of
Mimbar Indonesia, Gelanggang,Siasat and Indonesia cultural
magazine.

Still in junior high school, he was already sharing pages with
literary greats such as Chairil Anwar, Pramoedya Ananta Toer,
Idrus, Asrul Sani and Mochtar Lubis.

Rosidi's works are generally simple, straightforward and easy
to understand; he believes creating good literature is a
testimony to life.

"I write not simply because of an urge to get spiritual
satisfaction from producing something beautiful or novel, but
rather because of an inner drive to give a testimony."

He has never succumbed to the temptation to write lucrative
popular romances.

Publishers, he said, could never impose their will on him. He
admitted to developing a reputation for fussiness, but said this
was due to his insistence on maintaining artistic integrity.

He defined two types of literary works -- "serious" pieces and
"entertaining" ones, pop fiction for general consumption.

Rosidi said he decided early in his career to concentrate on
writing the former.

For him, the process of putting pen to paper involves
revealing honest testimony through a spiritual urge.

This is his distinction from purely entertaining fiction,
which is produced according to what the market demands.

Both in his profession and as a former chairman of the Jakarta
Arts Council, Rosidi has promoted freedom for literary
expression. He argued that banning literary works was pointless
because literature provided spiritual enlightenment to readers.

In a meeting of Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro and writers in 1993, Rosidi was one of those who
spoke up against bannings.

They are often linked to the political ideology of the
writers, a connection which Rosidi considered inappropriate.

"Artworks are not always linked or in line with the ideology
of the creators," he said.

Many works banned at home have been translated into foreign
languages, he added.

"Literary works are a nation's spiritual wealth and must be
enjoyed by as many readers as possible," said the founder of
Pustaka Jaya, a publisher of quality literary works.

One of his poetry collections is called Nama dan Makna (Name
and Meaning), and he has keen interest in both Indonesian and his
native Sundanese language.

Although Rosidi is currently a guest professor at Osaka
University in Japan, he still finds time to send articles to
Mangle, a journal in Sundanese, one of the country's few
publications in a dialect.

Literary critics agree he has devoted his life to his art.

"Rosidi has dedicated himself and contributed significantly to
the development of literature in Indonesia," said Saini Kosim, a
poetry critic and director of art affairs at the Ministry of
Education and Culture.

He also praised Rosidi's talent as poet, short story writer,
novelist and essayist.

"Not many writers have this same diverse concern for
literature," said Kosim, formerly editor of the poetry section at
Pikiran Rakyat daily based in Bandung.

His love of literature extends beyond his homeland. He has
translated several Japanese works into Indonesian, among them
Penari-penari Jepang (Japanese Dancers), a collection of short
stories by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata.