Joko Pinurbo and His Existential Anxiety

We can capture the essence of Joko Pinurbo's creative process in the depth of contemplation in his works,

KOMPAS/SUPRIYANTO

-

Finally the sad news came. Joko Pinurbo (61), the very prolific flamboyant Indonesian poet, died after lying weak for a long time due to a lung disease that was eating away at his fragile body.

Joko Pinurbo (Jokpin) left behind around 20 poetry anthologies that will continue to be enjoyed and appreciated by the Indonesian literary community. His works have received many awards and achievements at national and international levels.

Jokpin seems to follow the poet and novelist Yudhistira ANM Massardi (70) who died on April 2 2024. There is a special relationship between Jokpin and Yudhistira. When he was in middle school, at the end of the 70s, Jokpin really liked the poems by the poet Yudhistira which had a characteristically lyrical nuance. Jokpin was very impressed by the "new" style of poetry writing, which seemed to go against the standard aesthetic models that tended to be serious, such as Amir Hamzah, Chairil Anwar, and WS Rendra.

His simplicity in choosing words and themes actually conceals his deep existential anxiety about life, which in the poet's view is the twin brother of death.

The collection Toothbrush Rhymes, one of the books that Jokpin admires, displays semi-surreal but logical images. For Jokpin, the metaphors in Yudhistira's poetry are fresh and inspiring. What surprised Jokpin was that poetry could include anecdotal elements and comic symbols without fear of losing the allusion. Jokpin hinted that Yudhistira's work was one of his main inspirations.

Also read: Joko Pinurbo and Beauty in the Everyday World

Jokpin is one of the important poets who has his own place in the history of Indonesian literature. His work received a wide range of responses from various readers. He absorbed and learned from many poets, such as Chairil Anwar, Amir Hamzah, Goenawan Mohamad, Sapardi Djoko Damono, Yudhistira, and many more. Nevertheless, he has his own unique place as someone with a distinct pronunciation and selection of themes.

His simplicity in choosing words and themes actually encapsulates his deep existential concerns about life, which the poet views as the twin brother of death. It is this existential angst that colors almost all of Jokpin's works and sets him apart from other poets in Indonesia.

Humor to philosophy

Jokpin's presence in the world of Indonesian poetry began with light humor about the body and accessories worn by the body (sarongs, trousers, jeans) as well as places often visited or needed by the body (bathrooms, cemeteries, kitchens, beds, advertisements). , girlfriend, cell phone, coffee, and memories that stick to one's body and soul). His first two poetry anthologies, Pants (1999) andUnder the Fluttering Sarong (2001), were very thick with poems that contained the poet's obsession with the body and body accessories.

In the foreword to the collection Under the Kibaran Sarung, Ignas Kleden (2001: xi) highlights one aspect that he considers dominant in the world of Jokpin poetry, namely the metaphor of the body: the human body and its genitals, without "bringing the poet to a denotation of the body that can have a pornographic effect.”

Also read: Small Dictionary by Joko Pinurbo

Kleden wrote, in Jokpin, the body receives the main spotlight, is investigated with intense reflection and is given a dual role, both as a signifier and as a signified. Kleden saw how intensely Jokpin was obsessed with the human body in his contemplation. In contrast to other writers, the body for Jokpin is not just a setting or medium, but also the message itself. The body carries existential messages about life as well as death.

Many mbeling poems stop at humor, joking, and being funny. With simple words, deepening and internalization of the substance of human life becomes unclear. The use of everyday language to discuss problems that every human being faces in their daily lives does not stop Jokpin from expressing his deep existential anxiety.

When society celebrates worldly pleasures and bodily pleasures, Jokpin reminds us of transience and transience.

In his interview with Hamzah Muhamad, Jokpin emphasized his principle of creative writing in the midst of cultural upheaval caused by the development of science, technology, and the renewal of values. Jokpin said, "My anxiety arises. The challenge is how the author/writer can maintain their contemplation in writing, so that their work is not just passing by. Because in the virtual world, people are intoxicated by their own excitement. This depressing situation is very dangerous."

Also read: Joko Pinurbo, the humorous poet dies

If we examine Jokpin's perspective on the depth of his contemplation in his works, we will find the essence of all his creative processes, which is existential restlessness. The dominant themes in his poetry, such as the body, birds, pants, beds, mother, girlfriend, sarong, toilet, bathing, and grave (things that are trivial, trivial, and everyday) are always placed in opposition to death and mortality. In other words, death and mortality actually exist and disguise themselves in everyday human life. Isn't this very disturbing to our existence as humans? For Jokpin, this phenomenon leads him to a state of acute existential restlessness.

Therefore, Jokpin's poems are not only a seismographic culture - as stated by Ignas Kleden - but more than that, he makes his poems a damper for hedonistic culture. When society celebrates worldly pleasures and physical enjoyment, Jokpin reminds us of transience and mortality. The body that represents society's frivolity, in Jokpin's work, instead expresses horror, reluctance, and regret, although he also shows respect for the body and the world he faces.

With Jokpin's departure, the world of Indonesian literature lost one of its great poets who not only entertained but also stirred the thoughts of readers. His works will continue to be remembered and appreciated for their uniqueness in conveying existential anxieties through simple yet profound language. May his works become an inspiration for the next generation of poets and literature readers in Indonesia.

Yoseph Yapi Taum,Poet and Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta