Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA-National Poetry Day which is commemorated every April 28 is certainly not only to commemorate the death of the Indonesian poet, Chairil Anwar, but furthermore as a momentum to strengthen the role of poetry or literary works in general as part of the nation's cultural heritage.
"The way we commemorate a big day like National Poetry Day, needs to be 'shifted' from just a warning to strengthening values or increasing love for poetry itself," said Dr. Tengsoe Tjahjono, M.Pd., a UNESA lecturer who is an Indonesian writer.
Poetry is not just a work that is an expression of the poet's heart and mind, but is part of the cultural heritage which one of its functions is to strengthen the nation's character. Poetry is a means of communication where poets can express their worries in various aspects. Poetry in addition to having an aesthetic side, is also a weapon of social criticism.
"Poetry actually has many sides, it can be a tool of criticism, it can also be a means of education in which there are moral, religious and social messages. In my opinion, this Poetry Day needs to increase the number of activities to educate and promote poetry in the community," said the Head of Study Program for Language and Literature, Postgraduate, UNESA.
The momentum of Poetry Day, he continued, must be positioned as part of a shared reflection on the position and quality of the works produced so far. "Currently there are many poetry writers, but not many quality poems," he said.
The weakness of poetry writers currently lies in their lack of understanding of poetry due to the lack of reading intake of local poetry and poetry by foreign works. In addition, writing poetry is only used as an intermediate target. "The professionalism of poets or poets is seen from the way they interact with the poems," he said;
The warning must have an impact on the development of poetry and the development of the ability to produce quality poems. Poetry lovers should chat with poems so that their understanding of poetry is stronger. In addition, to bring poetry to life by reading, it is necessary to get used to it, "Poetry piles only become garbage if they are not read," he said.
Presentation on Poetry Day
For National Poetry Day, the man who had received an award in Literature from the governor of East Java (2012) presented the following special poems;
Opening the Morning with Poetry
Bismillah, I open the window with poetry
There are no mountains, only buildings
The sun is sinking and melting
Yawning in the streets
Morning now
So busy
No sun
Thank God, there are still poems
The one who records eternally
The sun used to glow
Now the horizon is quiet
2019 - 2021.
(UNESA PR)
Author: Lukman Hadi
Editor: @zam*
photo : Narsum Personal Documentation
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