The "President" of Eternal Poetry

KOMPAS/PUTU FAJAR ARCANA

Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

When I mentioned that there were no poets who could "overthrow" the “president of poetry “ Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, the seminar participants became noisy. The poets who attended the Tegal Mas Island International Poetry Festival on Jan. 24-26, 2020, in Lampung, turned to each other. There may also be those who felt stung or did not care at all, assuming the nickname was just a joke.

It was not really a joke. In a meeting of poets in Semarang, Sutardji was concerned about the nickname given to Amir Hamzah as the king of Pujangga Baru (the poets of the new era), and Chairil Anwar, who was dubbed the Pioneer of the 45th Generation and the president of Malioboro Umbu Landu Paranggi.

"I declare myself the ‘President of Indonesian Poetry’," Sutardji said at that time. The nickname as President of Indonesian Poetry has then been attached to him since the 1970s. In those years, Bang Tardji, as he was called by poets, was known to be fierce, as was the title of his poetry collection “O, Amuk, Kapak” (O, Amok, Ax).

Hundreds of poets appear and disappear. Sutardji continued to write poetry with amazing humility. He did not feel alienated at the beach of the Tegal Mas Island, Lampung, for example, while drinking a can of fresh milk while some female poets, whose names people knew, were busy going back and forth swimming and changing clothes. Bang Tardji even said, "You be careful," after meeting Naufal, a third grade high school student who had written three poetry books on Sunday (26/ 1/2020).

“Do you still write poetry, Bang?” This question may be naive. However, I meant to find out whether at the age of 79, Sutardji was still productive. Unbelievably, he answered, "I wrote this poem yesterday."

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Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

// Cukup sejengkal saja (a span is enough)/ akan bisa melipat dunia (can fold the world)/Dan seribu tahunmu (And your thousand years)/dapat tersimpan luas (can be kept wide)/Dalam satu larik pendek saja (In just one short line)/ Tak maksudku untuk mengagung-agungkan puisi (I don\'t mean to glorify a poem)/Kamahamaknaannya itulah (that’s the meaning)/ yang menjadikannya berharga (which makes it valuable)/ karena itu acungkan tabik takzim(because of that I give so much respect) /Kepada kata-kata (to the words)/Tak lain tak bukan kita juga (no other than us, too)//.

"This is my handwritten poem, later it will be recorded with a new creed," Sutardji said. When? "Maybe in March," he answered. What\'s the credo, Bang? "What is certain it will be different from the previous one," he said.

The poet, born in Rengat, Indragiri Hulu, on June 24, 1941, said of the handwritten poem that letters on a computer belonged to everyone. Handwriting is strongly related to a person\'s ability to express their ideas. "The letter \'b\' for me is not the same as the letter \'b\' to you. The letters we write the same as a signature, it is authentic, authentic," said Sutardji.

Firstly, he added, a poet converses with words, not with readers. When the conversation is over, then the words will converse with the reader.

Firstly, he added, a poet converses with words, not with readers. When the conversation is over, then the words will converse with the reader. "If you often talk with words, surely your poetry will be different," said the winner of the 1979 ASEAN Literature Prize.

Not blank paper

As a poet, said Sutardji, he never wrote on white paper. All the letters and ideas written by a poet are on a pile of biographies, history and even psychological trauma in his life journey. For this reason, poets should be different from each other, according to their history and biography.

"Poetry is like being written on a glass plate, under which there is a blue sea and fish. So, there is a story before that. That is the challenge of a poet, "said Sutardji. In addition, he said, poets often find words as a seed flown by a bird. Seeds can grow on bare ground and become a tree. Likewise with words, if a poet is patient when he finds the word "silent", it is very likely that this word will grow into a tree of poetry that imagines loneliness, emptiness, misery, or an unhealthy relationship.

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Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

The words, even though they already have an established meaning, in the hands of poets can have a different meaning. According to Sutardji, we carry our tongues everywhere. It\'s a matter of taste. Today we like meatballs, but we don’t know tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. We used to like mother\'s cooking in the village, but one day, after living in Europe for a long time, we don\'t like it anymore.

"This is not arrogant, but it is a matter of taste that joins our biography," said the 1990 winner of the Indonesian Art Award. The word also always opens up possibilities for different interpretations, which are greatly influenced by one\'s biography. The word "mawar" (rose) has a different meaning to many people. It can mean traumatic, it can also be nostalgic.

For example, Sutardji said, for a girl who was forcibly kissed by her boyfriend in a rose garden, the word "rose" can be very traumatic. It\'s different if another girl is treated gently by her boyfriend, she will remember the word "mawar" as something nostalgic.

Does a poet have to completely devote himself to poetry? "Don\'t you think I don\'t need a job. I\'m just an ordinary person even though it\'s too late to work now, "Sutardji said.

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Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

At one time, when he was young, he wanted to support his family\'s life by finding work. Sutardji even pioneered the establishment of a newspaper with several journalists. "I became the number two person in the newspaper," he said.

Wherever he goes, poetry always comes to him. When the writing of his thesis in the Department of State Administration, Faculty of Social Issues and Politics, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, was almost completed, he discontinued it, again because of poetry.

"Because my mentor went to take a shower and for a long time he didn\'t show up, so I just left it," Sutardji said with a laugh, then he wiped his face with the small towel he always carries.

In terms of poetry, Sutardji added, he was abstaining from developing the same mannerisms. "Repetition is the enemy of every poet. I must always formulate my new self,” he said.

The sea waves in front of us were always calm, but the tourists on Tegal Mas Island were still busy playing in the water. The afternoon was getting hotter and we prepared to return to the mainland.

KOMPAS/PUTU FAJAR ARCANA

Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

Born: Rengat, Indragiri Hulu, 24 June 1941

Works:

1. O (collection of poems, 1973)

2. Amuk (collection of poems, 1979)

3. O, Amuk, Kapak (collection of poems, 1981)

4. Hujan Menulis Ayam (collection of short stories, 2001)