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MARTIN JANKOWSKI: INDONESIA THROUGH EYES OF GERMAN POET - 31 Maret 2007 - 23:08 (Diposting oleh: Rumah Dunia)
Jankowski read his poems in both Bahasa Indonesia and German at the Kafe Ide Teater of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta). Several other scholars, such as Agus R. Sarjono, Joni Ariadinata, Wan Anwar, Jamal D. Rahman and playwright-director Wan Renggo of Subang, also read Jankowski's poems. In his opening remarks, Wan Anwar said that poems are a journey through which poets live and comprehend different facts of life. He presented Jankowski's poems as a portrait of Indonesia, and the fruits of Jankowski's travels to various corners of the country -- an introduction that met with large applause from the audience. Ten poems were read during the evening from the 31 featured in Detik-detik Indonesia. Jankowski has captured the ruthlessness of Bali's roads, corrupt police officers, tourists' irony and cultural exchange. Other poetry commented on Westernized Indonesians, Jakarta's traffic, the fate of becak (pedicab) drivers, bajaj and ordinary people across Indonesia. As an activist and poet, Jankowski is no ordinary adventurer or traveler. In his every visit, he seems to have reflected deeply upon his experiences, while incorporating his intellect and emotions in response to the phenomenon of life among us. It is this quality that makes Jankowski's poems touch the reader warmly. The poetry of his visits do not compose a travel diary; rather, they convey a universality in their spirit, grief, sorrow and satirical humor. For example, Kereta Api Jakarta-Bogor (The Jakarta-Bogor train) reads: It's jam-packed and getting even hotter and to topple that here comes/ a plastic bag seller with plastic bags/ a drinking water seller with a bucket full of ice/ lip-synch singer with the amplifier/ hair-clip seller with hair-clips hanging on him/people reading holy verses/ orange seller with the carrier/ the first stop/ a man with no legs/ crawling among the wood/ the movement of the feet/. This is one example of Jankowski's sensitive inner observations amid Indonesia's rawer, emptier and darker aspects of life. His poems are not a journey merely to kill some time and escape from daily routine. The activities and places he has seen and visited have amazed him, as seen in the collection of meaningful poems. Dodi Firmansyah, an Untirta lecturer of Bahasa Indonesia, expressed his concern during the discussion session -- that Jankowski's poems focus on the dark side of Indonesia. When German people finish reading such poems, he said, they will have a perception of Indonesia that it is dark and ugly. In short, that it would be a negative image. On the other hand, writer Heri Hendrayana Harris (known better by his pen name Gola Gong), completely agreed with the social criticisms in Jankowski's poems. He even invited the young German poet to remain in Banten for three months to write critical poems addressing the government and political issues. Balancing these opinions was Agus R. Sarjono, who commented that Jankowski's poems were products of a multicultural dialogue that arose during his travels. Further, Agus underlined that the country existed because of its diversity; it was time that we learned to live without becoming easily offended or disappointed, to be satisfied and not live under a single source of power. "With Jankowski's poems, we can reflect on trials among us that we may have thought of as 'normal'," he added. "It may be because our senses have become dull and insensitive in face of phenomenons and tribulations. Thus we have become indecisive." Reading Jankowski's poems is like entering a room for multicultural dialogue, and possess a confidentiality and better comprehension about our world, including its challenges. They suggest the need for an understanding and realization of the extent of cultural diversity in all nations. Meanwhile, the poems also construct an image of Indonesia that helps readers to better understand how "outsiders" may perceive the country -- and Jankowski has traveled the vastness of Indonesia from Aceh to Papua. Apart from poetry, Jankowski also writes songs, short stories, plays, essays and novels. He was also involved in the movement to reunite the two Germanies and is a staunch advocate of democracy. Jankowski's connection to Indonesia started in 2002, when senior poet-playwright W.S. Rendra invited him to participate in the Indonesian International Festival of Poems, which toured Jakarta, Bandung and Makassar. Jankowski's poems have been translated into Bahasa Indonesia and have also featured in Horison literary magazine. In 2003, he was appointed a guest lecturer of letters in the Faculty of Cultural Science at the University of Indonesia. The German poet was invited to Banten by Untirta's letters faculty in order counter various Indonesian issues and creative a tradition of art appreciation in Banten. This activity was also supported by the Art Forum Banten, Banten's Department of Culture and Tourism, Theater Kafe Ide Untirta and the Students Association of Modern and Indonesian Languages, as well as those of Education and Indonesian Arts. ***
*) The writer is an art and drama lecturer at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa State University (Untirta) in Banten, West Java. [RumahDunia.Net] |
German poet Martin Jankowski astounded the art community and poetry lovers in Banten, West Java, when he read from his Detik-detik Indonesia (Indonesian moments) last Wednesday.