Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA-The passing of the late Budi Darma left many deep impressions, both for the UNESA extended family and for the world of Indonesian literature. In memory of the Professor Emeritus, the Faculty of Languages ��and Arts (FBS) UNESA held a National Symposium: Towards a Literary Theory of Budi Darma's 'Twisting World' on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.
The Symposium Target Becomes a Book
The Dean of FBS UNESA, Dr. Trisakti, M.Sc., said that the purpose of the symposium was to construct Budi Darma's literary theory. The results of the review and discussion of 16 experts from both practitioners and academics in the event are expected to be formulated into a book that will be published by FBS.
The book follows other books about Budi Darma such as “The Challenge of Budi Darma Cultural Pupils” which will be launched at the 40-day Budi Darma event. Also, the book “Budi Darma, His Figure and Work” which will be launched on the 100th day of the death of the deceased. “The resource persons were chosen for their expertise, character, and closeness to Budi Darma's mind. There were more than 1,000 participants from various regions in Indonesia, some even from Malaysia," he said.
From Symposium to International Conference
The event is planned to be followed up in the form of an international conference. This was stated by the Chancellor of UNESA, Prof. Nurhasan, M.Kes in his speech. "We ask for the support of the speakers, next year we will hold it, and this year it will be initiated and informed so that the implementation will be smooth and successful," he said. "I believe that the wealth of insights from various parties in this symposium can enrich the theoretical horizons of Indonesian literature and inspire the literature of the nation's generations," he hoped.
Dr. Seno Gumira Ajidarma, S.Sn., M.Hum, an Indonesian writer and literary scientist on that occasion opened his presentation with a key question, what is Budi Darma's literary theory rich? By referring to Budi Darma's essays in Soliloquy (1983), Bloomington's People, and Several Literary Essays (1984), that Budi Darma in several 'places' is head over heels, but has a firm view of human beings. “My concept of humans is clear; Humans are always in the process of searching for their identity and fall down because of the difficulty in relating to each other,” he said quoting a piece from Budi Darma's writing.
Liver and 'Honest Engineering Teacher'
Seno Gumira formulates an authorship strategy in the style of Budi Darma; (1) daily life as an observer of life, to always observe humans, (2) steadfast adherents of his concept of humans to become a ready-made theme, (3) squeeze the power of writing when the moment of possibility arrives. At the end of his presentation, Seno Gumira showed the first edition of 'Bloomington's People'. "This (Bloomington's people, ed) is really very inspiring, because here I find a technique used like Kuntowijoyo, about my character who is honest about his own crimes," he said. "This honest technique is what I call identification with the subject in literature," concluded the Boston-born man.
Then, Okky Puspa Madasari highlighted Budi Darma's literary theory in the theme 'Literature as a Field of Intellectuality'. "Intellectual ability is one of the important requirements to be a good writer," he said quoting a fragment of Budi Darma (1981-1982). The winner of Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa (2012) compared Budi Darma with Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Syed Hussein Alatas.
The candidate for Ph.D at the National University of Singapore said that Budi Darma views that intellectuals are not synonymous with high formal education, but with an attitude that always wants to learn and a way of thinking that shows good thinking skills. Meanwhile, Syed Hussein Alatas views that knowledge of something does not automatically make someone intellectual. Maybe someone is a mechanic or bridge building expert or a scribe but that doesn't automatically make that person intellectual. Pramoedya had a clear view again. "It could just end there physiology (deeds), intellectuals means that their reasoning has not yet reached a responsibility towards themselves and their environment, especially to mankind," he quoted Pramoedya as saying.
Intellectual and Abstraction Ability is Key
Mr. Budi saw, continued Okky Madasari, that the intellectuality of the author determines the quality of the work. Poor work is due to low abstraction skills. Works can not rely on natural talent, it is not enough. The reason for the poor work is also because the author is not distant from his own writing, so the result is nothing more than the author's autobiography. "This is a very valuable criticism from Mr. Budi and his colleagues until now," he said.
Meanwhile, Tommy F. Awuy, Lecturer of Art Philosophy at IKJ said that literature is basically a medium of textual awareness that depends on the alphabet, words, sentences, paragraphs, with the problematic sequences. Film is a medium of perceptual awareness constructed by a series of visuals and a series of moving images.
High Visual Imagination and Good at Working on a Liquid Narrative
The power of conceptual and perceptual awareness that stands out in Budi Darma's literary works is in the aspect or power of visual imagination stimulation, both in terms of place descriptions, interactions of characters, character building, dramaturgy buildings, and the mode of narrative work including the theme. "That element is fairly fluid, worked on by Budi Darma and became the strength of his literature," he said. This skill in designing visual perception can be seen in “Bloomington's People” and “Nameless Old Man”. "Imaginative descriptions of places consciously and unconsciously lead the reader to imagine the condition of the city of Bloomington with the character of its inhabitants," said the lecturer of Philosophy at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UI.
Inspiring Indonesian Children and Indonesian Writers
Much Khoiri, Writer and Lecturer of FBS UNESA said that Budi Darma has many interesting and intriguing views in his literature. The deceased had a deep appreciation of life and humans. "His services are very, very great in inspiring the nation's children, especially for writers in this country," he said.
Other experts and writers who attended the symposium were Djuli Djatiprambudi, Prof I Wayan Kun Adnyana, Faruk HT, Akmal N. Basral, Wahyudi Siswanto, Suyatno, Eka Budiantara, Ki S Hendrowinoto, Hafiz Rancajale, M. Shoim Anwar, Triyanto Triwikromo , and Tengsoe Tjahjono. Finally, one fall grows a thousand. Hopefully, Budi Darma's services and works will be an inspiration for the country's children. (Madina)
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