My first novel; Alon Buluek.
By Ayi Jufridar
Eight years ago is the year of the rise of Aceh's literature at the national level with a number of achievements of its activists. Acehnese writers successively painted his name—also the name of Aceh—in a prestigious national event which had never been written before. Starting from Herman RN, whose short story was included in Kompas's daily best choice, Mahdi Idris's poetry, which became the second national champion of poetry competition for teachers, to the most prestigious two awards won by Arafat Nur's Lampuki as the winner of the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) novel competition can be said to be the most prestigious novel contest in Indonesia.
Finally, Lampuki has been named the winner of the 2011 Literary Equator Award for the category of prose, an award touted as the Indonesian literary Nobel.
Strangely, achievement was only boisterous at the national level. In Aceh, the news was far less than the debate about politics, regarding the postponement of the elections and so on. Every day the media pesters readers with news about politics as if it is the issue that interests the public the most. Thankfully, the success of Aceh writers in achieving KLA 2011 appeared on the front page of Serambi Indonesia (Friday, 11/11/11).
The fact is a little encouraging because there are still journalists who care about the success of Aceh's literature, despite the fact that those who care are usually journalists who also work as writers.
The term Acehnese literature or local literature has been a debate among literary and literary connoisseurs. There is no agreement on the definition of Acehnese literature; whether the literature written by the Acehnese, the literature on races, or setting Aceh, or there is the term Aceh in it, or a combination of the elements above.
There are many opinions on this issue and there are no absolutes in it. The difference in definition is not an obstacle because anything written by an Acehnese literary writer, even though the contents of his writings do not allude to Aceh, he is still seen as an Acehnese writer.
Tariq Ali, who was of Pakistani blood but settled in England and wrote about the glory of Saladin Al-Ayyubi in the past without even touching Pakistan, still could not relinquish his fate. He could not lie to the blood that flowed in his body even though he was driven out in his own country because of his criticism. A writer writes values that are universal, but he still has an identity that is carried to death, even sticking past his time after he passed away.
Outside writers who write about Aceh, such as Putra Gara with Samudra Pasai and several other writers, should also get appreciation in Aceh, both by the community and the government. They contributed to the history of ravings even though in the form of fiction that was ignored by Acehnese writers.
They not only made Aceh memorable, but also enriched the literary treasures of Aceh and strengthened intellectual discourse. They have provided inspiration for young writers to work. The positive impact in that direction was clearly seen when several outside writers who wrote about Aceh such as Putra Gara shared their writing experiences with young writers in Banda Aceh some time ago.
The reception of young Acehnese writers was so enthusiastic that they gained valuable experience in writing and publishing. Various other events held in Aceh, such as book review by the Aceh Lingkar Pena Forum (FLP), also received enough response so that mapped interest and great potential in Aceh. In fact, various events that were held did not get adequate support from local governments.
Their creativity grows without government support in any form. Young writers, and aspiring writers, volunteered to hold a celebration that was not cheap for their size. Literary pockets grew, discussion rooms formed without the expectation of publication. They are independent of the interests of literary and cultural organizations that are close to the government.
They are more concerned with the process of creativity as tangible evidence of a writer than busy taking care of organizations without working. At FISIP Universitas Malikussaleh, the Journalism and Literature Community has been running for four years and some of its participants have managed to penetrate the national media. Every year the number of participants increases.
My third novel about a beautiful woman from China who has 100 husbands because in her vagina there is a deadly poison.
Literary growth still needs government support even though some consider literature to grow for literature or art for art. Interfering here is not meant as an intervention to curb creativity, but rather to strengthen literary discourse in the regions. The government guarantees freedom of expression with an agreed unwritten norm.
However, the government is obliged to support the strengthening of literature as part of public policy to build civilization. During this time, part of the obligation was interpreted by providing assistance to writers.
The publication of literary books cannot be separated from business interests. Many quality literary works cannot be easily obtained because published by small publishers making it difficult to penetrate the market. Indie publishers find it very difficult to market their products in large bookstores because they tend to only accept books published by their groups.
There are several indie publishers who then market through the community and online. They did not lose the spirit to penetrate the dominance of major publishers.
Many quality Acehnese literary works that carry the theme of local cultural wealth that should be preserved. This is where the local government should play a role by making these books available in all high school and tertiary libraries in Aceh so that they can be read by the young Acehnese generation.
Such a policy also benefits the writer because his work is market-friendly despite its political background. Publishers also need not fear loss because even if they do not get big profits because the book does not become a bestseller, at least able to cover production costs.
Other activities such as writing training, writers entering school / campus, literary discussion, or book review, must become routine activities so that local literature becomes more entrenched. The writers were not in dancing ivory that was far from the reach of the people.
It has long been voiced, the government's attention to literature is not up to one percent of the attention to other arts especially when compared to sports. Some popular sports do not even give any achievements because players are busy fighting on the field. In fact, literature plays a major role in building civilization and intellectual society. There is not one developed country in the world whose literature is not developed.
Finally, the struggle to overcome the alienation of literature in one's own home must continue by writers with or without government support. The resistance was carried out in the form of real work, with continuous creativity as part of building literary power, building the nation's civilization.[]
Me and the others writer in Jakarta.
