Reading Corner at Bentara Budaya Continuing Kompas Gramedia's Literacy Mission

Kompas Gramedia inaugurated a reading corner at Bentara Budaya Jakarta to boost public literacy.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Visitors are reading books in the reading corner at the newly inaugurated Bentara Budaya Jakarta courtyard, on Tuesday (30/4/2024) afternoon. The reading corner will display books periodically from several publishers at Kompas Gramedia.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Kompas Gramedia inaugurated reading corner on the Bentara Budaya Jakarta page , Tuesday (30/4/2024) afternoon. The presence of the reading corner continues Kompas Gramedia's mission which was initiated 61 years ago in boosting literacy in the community to help make the nation's life more intelligent.

The Corner Reading Building was originally a security post of the Jakarta Bentara Budaya. Since early April, the building has been renovated by adding bookshelves, tables, and chairs. In addition to being a reading place, the corner reading can also be used by literacy activists to launch and discuss books.

Ilham Khoiri, the General Manager of Bentara Budaya & Communication Management in Kompas Gramedia's Corporate Communication, said that from the beginning, Kompas Gramedia has wanted to be part of the efforts to educate the nation. This literacy mission is pursued through book publishing, book figures, media, and other literacy works.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

The General Manager of Bentara Budaya & Communication Management, Corporate Communication of Kompas Gramedia, Ilham Khoiri (center), inaugurated a reading corner at the Bentara Budaya Jakarta yard on Tuesday (April 30th, 2024) afternoon.

The reading corner displays books periodically from a number of publishers at Kompas Gramedia, such as Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU), Grasindo, Gramedia Popular Literature (KPG), Elex Media Komputindo, Bhuana Popular Science (BIP), M&C, and Kompas Book Publishers (PBK). Visitors can access the books for free and then return them to their original place.

"This is our small effort to achieve the bigger goal that Kompas Gramedia started in 1963," he said.

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Reading corner has become a new approach in cultivating public literacy. It can also be used as a place for writers and various communities to meet and plan literacy activities.

”We want to make a space more relaxed or relaxed. People who come here don't have to buy books, they can just hang out. "Incidentally, there are people here selling coffee, noodles, fried rice and so on," he said.

Since the beginning, Kompas Gramedia has wanted to be part of the effort to educate the nation. The literacy mission is pursued through book publishing, literary figures, media, and other literacy works.

Gramedia's Public Relation Manager, Rezza Patria Wibowo, stated that through books, their institution aims to educate and inspire many people. By reading books, creative ideas arise, making communities more productive.

The activity is expected to further strengthen the literacy programs that have been running, such as Sastra Bentara, Aku Baca, Nusa Membaca, and Membaca di Kereta. "If literacy improves, the community becomes more empowered and the Indonesian nation will achieve its aspirations of progress more quickly," he said.

read a poem

Apart from the inauguration of the reading corner, the event also launched the books The Snatched and the Snapped / The Deprived and the Severed by Chairil Anwar (bilingual poetry translated by Rick Idrus, published by GPU) and Not Falling Cinta, graphic novel by Rayni N Massardi & Erby S (published by PBK).

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KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Author Putu Fajar Arcana recited the poem "Kamus Kecil" by Joko Pinurbo at the inauguration of a reading corner in the courtyard of Bentara Budaya Jakarta, on Tuesday afternoon (30/4/2024).

At the same time, poetry readings were held by a number of poets, including Hasan Aspahani, Putu Fajar Arcana, Cyntha Hariadi, and Mohammad Hilmi Faiq. This moment is associated with National Poetry Day, commemorating the death of poet Chairil Anwar on April 28, 1949, as well as a prayer for poet Joko Pinurbo who recently passed away in Yogyakarta on Saturday (27/4/2024).

Arcana recited a poem titled "Kamus Kecil" by Joko Pinurbo. He also accompanied Jokpin, Joko Pinurbo's nickname, to his final resting place during his funeral on Sunday.

"To remember and strengthen us all in Jokpin's services, I read the poem 'Kamus Kecil' which I believe is the best creed from his work that maximizes the function of a dictionary," he said.