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.