Poem for Night and Empty Room

In Malam Sureq, a community of young people tries to fill in a literary space that has thus far not been filled. They gather, listen and read poetry about anything, from history, to love, to local dish coto makassar.

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

A Malam Sureq Community member reads a poem to a colleague in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday (15/4/2018). Malam Sureq is a community of young people who like poetry.

Malam Sureq (Poetry Night) is a gathering, one that is fluid and warm, for poetry lovers in Makassar, South Sulawesi. In it, a community of young people tries to fill in a literary space that has thus far not been filled. They gather, listen and read poetry about anything, from history, to love, to local dish coto makassar.

On Sunday (15/4/2018) night after rainfall, a few people spent time at coffee shops in Makassar. A coffee shop on Jl. Hertasning in Makassar, South Sulawesi, was not too crowded. A couple chatted inside. On their left and backside, four others shared stories intimately.

Outside, two men talked closely. Wahyu, 21, took his third cigarette in 10 minutes. “I like poetry from Robert Frost titled The Door in The Dark,” said the student of English literature at State Makassar University. “From its title, it is phonetic – door and dark, which sounds crunchy.”

“For poetry by young people in Makassar, I like Ibe’s ‘Solilukui’,” he said, referring to the man by his side.

Then, we asked Ibe S. Palogai to read his poem. Ibe opened his smartphone. He read a few lines:

Apakah cinta itu selebar teras rumahmu?/ pertanyaanku yang kamu sebar menjadi pertanyaan baru/ begitulah seterusnya kita biarkan hidup berlalu seperti pertanyaan yang berjalan/ dari satu arah ke mata yang lain/ itulah mulanya/ pada akhirnya kita akan menjadi penjaga rahasia/ yang membiarkan kata-kata menanggalkan seragamnya sendiri/ sebelum meninggalkan kita de- ngan doanya yang belum mandiri//

(Is love as spacious as the terrace of your house?/ my question that you spread becomes a new question/ that’s the way we live our life, like an open question/ from a direction to another/ that’s the beginning/ in the end we would be the guardians of secret/ that let words strip off their uniforms/ before leaving us with their prayers)

Ibe, 26, a graduate of Indonesian literature from Hasanuddin University, said the poem that he wrote in 2013, titled “Solilukui”, was created when he was passionate about poetry. At that time, he tried to produce one poem each day.

Gathering

Wahyu and Ibe are two of around 70 members of the Malam Sureq community. It is a forum for young people who love literature, especially poetry across Makassar.

Malam Sureq was initiated by several students from Hasanuddin University in mid-2013. “Sureq means letter. In a greater context, it means text. Everything produced through writing in Bugis-Makassar in the past is called sureq. We call this community Malam Sureq,” Ibe said.

Then, they invited friends to come and join the activity. The activity was simple: come, listen and, hopefully, read poems. Malam Sureq is held once or twice a month.

A tradition during Malam Sureq is that the person who has just finished reading poem is allowed to point an individual from the audience. “Usually, they do not know each other. So this is a way to get to know each other,” Wahyu said.

Merging into the group is the spirit of this community. That is why they agreed not to form an executive board or membership positions. Young people who want to join are welcome. Moreover, members of the community feel the literary activities in Makassar show there is a wide gap between the old and the young.

Initially, Ibe said, people who came to Malam Sureq often read out a poem of other writers. Several gatherings later, some young people started to gain confidence and read out their own poems. Starting from a few years ago, Malam Sureq has been part of a poetry reading network in several cities.

Several people grouped in the community have successfully published books about their poetry and stories. They are, among others, Faisal Oddang, who has published several books; Alfian Dipahattang, who wrote poems with local content, such as grilled fish and Coto Makassar. Others are Alif A. Putra, Arif Rahman and several young poets.

Wahyu said he would launch a collection of poems titled Mendengar Biru di Langit (Listen to Blue from the Sky). In the book, he will talk about the cultural mission, which entails where he is from and where he studies. Ibe is doing something similar. His latest book Cuaca Buruk Sebuah Buku Puisi (Bad Weather of Poetry Book) is now in the printing process by Gramedia publisher. In the book, he talks about the Makassar war, the defeated and its context with the present time of the Makassar people. His first poetry book, titled Solilukui, was published in 2013.

New challenge

Apart from Malam Sureq, the community also organizes Tudang Sipulung and Ngobrol Puisi poetry discussions. The last Malam Sureq was in February. They have not scheduled the next event.

“The problem is many of us are separated. Some are in Jakarta and others are busy with their business,” Ibe said.

Wahyu said he personally wanted the discussion between community members to be more intense, delving further into participants’ poetry and literary life in Makassar.

The night was getting late and the talks warmer. Two more community members joined, adding to topics of discussion. We moved to another coffee shop that was open for 24 hours, ordered some coffee and tasted dried bananas. “This [talk] already resembles Malam Sureq,” Ibe said.