Writer by Herry Lamongan
Translated by Agus B. Harianto
One thing you are right: big guts. With that courage the self-confidence is grow up. Creative process is built. Finally, you made as book of your tens work. You select it you edit it, and the next you publish them and market it by your self. If Chairil Anwar pick up the motto “once meant after that is die”. But you are not. You are as if chasing with the age, making so many works, anything: poetry, essay, or just statement, and then you launch it into the public rooms in so many books, since “Takdir Terlalu Dini” until now is “Kitab Para Malaikat”.
Generally, the writers start their career by send their work into any kinds of mass media. Probably you ever did that. Honestly, with fall and rise again, fail or succeed trough media is a write make competition. And only, the courage writer can stand to face the selection from the redaction of mass media. Seem, even though your guts is big, you don’t want to be bother to fall and rise again to take the way of publication trough mass media. You more depend on the way “guerrilla man”, come to the post of art, campus, also school of Koranic studies, in here you were offering your works by your self. You launch books directly door to door.
About ht poetry anthology of “Kitab Para Malaikat”, what can I say to comment? Kang Maman S. Mahayana had so sharp and wide long to observe it. For me, you just left to understand those review, classify and select the most exactly part, and then make it as motivation to increase the quality of your next works, not only chase the quantity. This is the next step after tens of your hand’s works became books. After teens of discussion your guerrilla is admonished, interrogate, even critics on you.
It felt almost, in each chapter of this anthology “Kitab Para Malaikat”, there are imagination jumping that crash each other, it seem that you failed to compound it become a pattern of intact poetry. More over, I n a fragment of poetry (with the sign of roman numerals) that even though just two lines, impressed the working up to make along on the sentence that precisely obscure the contents of those lines, for example: yang setia menyusuri jalan menapaki pantai hakekat, segera tahu bunga wijaya kusuma merekah bagi syarat penobatan Ratu Adil (XVII). : The loyal one that retraces the street step on the beach of essence, will be sonly know the flower wijayakusuma as the requirement for coronation of fairly queen.
It is either when you use the vocabulary of java’s language, is not be able enough to show the strong imagery as your hope. For example, check of this line:
……berkepompong senyawa pucuk daun manunggaling bayu semesta bathin (XIV: IX).
To be in cocoon of a life of leaf’s summit from the gathering become one of universe inner heart’s air. Or this line:
…… anggur tumpahkan nurani atas cengkraman gelisah di rasuli wedi ……(XVII: XCV)
…. The wines pour out the inner heart on the gripping of nervous that possessed by afraid.
The poetry in “Kitab Para Malaikat” you wrote between 1998 until 1999. if in the year 2007 it just published, it means had been sediment for nine years, it had sublimed. In the long wandering of you at this long time “Kitab Para Malaikat” had been go along with you and you often revise it. When still found several lessen in there, it usual, because the words couldn’t be able too, to fully absorbs the ideas. Or the taste of presenter is taking leave of each other with the taste of devotee.
But, you are right, without courage some one become very difficult to make the works, especially literature works. By unique way and ready to take the serious risks you had prove those thing. Jakarta, Yogya, Jember, Tanjungkarang, Malang and the others city that also be able you made the targets of guerrilla. Exclusive style of Nurel. Whatever, these statements were right and always will: kekuatanmu adalah kelemahanmu, dan kelemahanmu adalah kekuatanmu. Your power is your weakness, and your weakness is your power. Peace!