Recent Writers in Indonesia Jakob Sumardjo

Recent Writers in Indonesia
Jakob Sumardjo
Background
consisting of novels and compilations of short stories, sup-
posedly amounts to about 2,500 works, including translated
Since the appearance of modern literature in Indonesia in
literature from other countries.
1920, there has been a steady flow of writing through times
of war, rebellion, political and economic crises, power strug-
Current Literature
gles, and so on, all of which provided impetus to the work.
There were novels about society and people in the Dutch
The last political era in Indonesia was the ‘New Order under
colonial era, short stories, drama on the problem of Japanese
the Power of Suharto’ regime (1966-1998). Until the 1990s,
power in Indonesia, novels about the era of the Indonesian
Indonesian literature had developed well, because of the aid
revolution and liberal democracy era, and the communist
of the Jakarta Arts Council which held control of an art cen-
rebellion in 1965, and also criticism in literature of the New
tre called Taman Ismail Marzuki. In 1968, this council was
Order under the Suharto regime. The works of Indonesian
fully supported by the governor of DKI (specific region)
modern literature always deal with its cultural environment.
Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, who had a liberal vision. This art council
This is understandable, because most Indonesian writers
organized several activities, one of them being a novel and
come from the educated middle class, who have always been
drama script-writing competition, the results of which were
victims of the mismanagement of power.
surprising. Many works with a new vision appeared, such as
The most commonly used forms of writing are the short
that written by Putu Wijaya, (a novelist and playwright),
stories and poetry, because they are easy to publish in week-
Danarto (a short-story writer), Budi Darma (a short-story
ly or monthly magazines. Since the 1970s these types of writ-
writer and novelist), Sutardji Calzoum Bachri (a poet), Abdul
ing have also been published in the newspapers. In book
Hadi WM (a poet), Iwan Simatupang (a novelist), and Arifin
form, a work of literature is quite difficult to find. A novel
C. Noer (a playwright). Now, their works have become clas-
writer whose work is in the newspaper continuously, some-
sics of modern literature.
times has to wait for five or ten years before the work is pub-
But during the late 1980s, the Indonesian government start-
lished in book form. This kind of serious literature does not
ed to repress certain literature, especially, that which was
sell well, unless it becomes controversial.
about ‘the Power’. A number of poetry readings and dramas
The publication of serious literature depends on the big
were banned. Also, the great novels of Pramoedya Ananta
publishers, which do not seek only profit. A publisher in the
Toer were prohibited and could not be circulated. This situa-
colonial era, Balai Pustaka, was famous for publishing this
tion ended with the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998. The
kind of books. It could be done because the colonial govern-
following period, called the Reformation Era, brought a kind
ment subsidized it in order to control what people should
of euphoria of freedom, such as had happened in 1966 and
actually read. After independence, Balai Pustaka was taken
1945. In this situation, without any prohibition, were born
over by the Indonesian government, and still publishes liter-
several significant works of literature.
ature frequently.
Another publisher which has also published serious liter-
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
ature since independence, is Pustaka Jaya. This is a private
institution managed by Ajip Rosidi, a writer. Other publish-
No writer like Pramoedya Ananta Toer had caused so much
ers not as productive as those mentioned above, include
discussion in Indonesia since 1980. This writer, born in 1925,
Djambatan, Gunung Agung, Pembangunan, and recently
published his first novel, Kranji-Bekasi Jatuh, in 1947. Since
Gramedia, Obor, and Granesia.
1957, he has written 9 novels and 3 collections of short sto-
Poets, mostly the young ones, prefer to publish their own
ries. In 1980, after being released from the prison in Buru
compilations of poetry. Indonesian literature in book form
Island by the government of the New Order, he caused up-
Pramoedya Ananta Toer and his
recent play Mangir
(Photos courtesy of Mr. A. Taryadi)
Pramoedya Ananta Toer delivering a public lecture in Tokyo, Japan in 2000
(photo courtesy of Japan Foundation Asia Center)
ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1
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roar amongst the Indonesian people with a quartet of novels
called Bumi Manusia (The Earth of Mankind), Anak Semua
Bangsa (Child of All Nations), Jejak Langkah (Footsteps), and
Saman by Ayu Utami
Dewi Lestari
Rumah Kaca (House of Glass). Those novels were based on
the biography of a reporter who was very actively involved
in the national movement, called R. M. Tirtoadisuryo (Minke).
in one year, this novel has been reprinted ten times. The style
This figure had never been mentioned as a pioneer of the
of writing is so direct, smart, and about the life of young
national movement of educated people in Indonesia.
people who have a global vision, and are brave enough to
Pramoedya made him appear as such, with due dedication.
formulate a new morality for youth. It has brought a fresh
The government of the New Order prohibited these novels.
and new approach to novel writing in Indonesia. Although
In spite of that, this writer still continued to publish other
this novel is the first part of an intended series, people are
works underground, such as Arus Balik (Reverse Stream) in
still waiting for the follow-up.
1995. The latter is an historical novel which tells about the
Another newcomer is a young woman as well, called
fall of the independence and the golden age of Java that used
“Dee,” or Dewi Lestari (born in 1976). In 2001 she published
to depend on the sea, shipping and international trade, then
her first novel called Supernova. (see p. 15) This novel has
tended to become an agricultural state governed by author-
been reprinted 5 times in only 6 months. The work of Dewi
ity and a conventional system.
Lestari (she is also a singer) brings a vision of a new spiritu-
Another novel, Gadis Pantai (The Girl from the Coast), is a
ality based on several inventions of modern science in the
reprint of his work from 1962. In 1999 he published a novel
20th century. It has popular story lines, which could be found
called Arok-Dedes based on the mytho-history of Java. It can
easily in television serials, that is, love affairs, the broken
be seen that he was drawn towards several figures in the
love among celebrities in Jakarta. Within the framework of a
history of Indonesia who came from the common people,
popular story, the author would like to show the truth about
and had successfully changed the history of their nation.
her vision of a new spirituality in the theory of chaos, turbu-
His old novel, Larasati (1960), was republished in 2000
lence, probability, holism, and so on. Dewi has also prom-
along with Gadis Pantai. His most recent work is a play called
ised to follow her first novel with others about the new
Mangir, also based on the rebellion of a leader of the com-
spirituality.
mon people who had a liberal attitude, against the authority
of the king of Mataram.
Fruits of Literature Magazines
Pramoedya Ananta Toer is considered as the oldest au-
thor still writing who holds a consistent view of ‘people pow-
Indonesian literature since independence (1945) has devel-
er’. He is also the most productive writer with the greatest
oped through magazines of culture and literature. In those
amount of work in Indonesia, and has won a great deal of
magazines one could find short stories, poetry, drama, and
merit for the quality of his work, given by a number of ob-
literary criticism. The only literature magazine that still has a
servers in literature. (see p. 11)
good circulation is Horison. This magazine was started in
1966, by a writer called Mochtar Lubis and through it a lot of
Seno Gumira Ajidarma
change has come about in the art of writing by new writers.
A writer of mystico-surrealistic short stories, Danarto, start-
This writer, born in 1958, is considered a very productive
ed his career through this magazine, and, many young writ-
writer of short stories. At first, he wrote mostly poetry, and
ers still feature their works. Young poets who appeared later
later on he moved to short stories. Recently, he tried to write
on can be noted, such as Afizal Malna, Soni Farid Maulana,
a novel, which is now being serialized in one of the Jakarta
Agus. R. Sarjono, Acep Zamzam Noor, Agus Noor, and Gus
newspapers. This first book of short stories was Manusia
tf. This magazine also put an insertion about literature edu-
Kamar (1988), followed by Penembak Misterius (1993), and
cation in schools, to help teachers in teaching the literature
another 6 collections of short stories. His most recent work
of their nation.
is Matinya Seorang Penari Telanjang (2000). In general, his
(translated by F. X. Widaryanto)
short stories are characterized as surrealistic, based on actu-
reference:
al events in the society that caused an uproar (the fight against
Titles by Pramoedya Ananta Toer:
Kranji-Bekasi, jatuh (Kranji-Bekasi is a region near Jakarta, famous in the history
preman ‘someone who enslaves another people,’ and the
of the struggle against the Dutch), Arok-Dedes (Ken Arok and his wife Ken Dedes,
cruelty in East Timor). Seno Gumira Ajidarma skillfully ma-
who are legendary figures), Larasati (name of a woman), Mangir (name of a
nipulates mundane life into his pure imagination. His work
village, whose leader is called Ki Ageng Mangir)
Titles by Seno Gumira Ajidarma:
shows how life is sometimes similar to the imagination, how
Manusia Kamar (man who loves staying indoors and dislikes outdoor life),
life is possible without imagination, how a man can live fully
Penembak Misterius (mysterious shooters), Mantinya Seorang Penari Telanjang
(the death of a stark-naked dancer)
in his imagination, and how he takes advantage of imagina-
tion in his real life.
Jakob Sumardjo
Born in 1939. Graduating from IKIP Bandung in 1970, he is a historian
The Newcomers
and currently lecturer in Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia (The Indonesian
Dance Institute), Bandung. He has written and edited more than 16 books,
In 1998, literary circles in Indonesia were surprised by the
most of them about Indonesian literature. The most recent of his works
publication of a novel written by a young woman called Ayu
is Konteks Sosial Novel Indonesia (The Social Context of Indonesian
Novels) 1920-1977 in 1999.
Utami. Her novel, Saman, was one of the contenders in a
Jakob Sumardjo
novel-writing competition held by Jakarta Arts Council. With-
Jl. Pasir Layung, X/1 Padasuka, Bandung 40192, Indonesia
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ABD 2001 Vol. 32 No. 1

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