Monday, September 7, 2020

Budi Darma, Indonesian Prose Reform Literature

 By  A. Zamroni Sw.

Budi Darma dan novel Olenka (http://www.biografi-penulis.blogspot.com-medium.com)

Budi Darma was born in Rembang, Central Java, on April 25, 1937. He was the fourth of six children (all boys). Budi Darma spent his childhood and adolescence in various cities on the island of Java - such as Semarang, Yogyakarta, Salatiga, Jombang, Kendal, and Bandung - because he followed his father who worked as a post office employee.

Budi Darma's parents both came from Rembang. His father was named Munandar Darmowidagdo (born 1900) and his mother named Sri Kunmaryati (born in 1909). Budi Darma married Sitaresmi (born 7 September 1938) in 1968. They have three sons, namely Diana (born 15 May 1969), Guritno (4 February 1972), and Hananto Widodo (3 June 1974).

Budi Darma completed primary school education in 1950 in Kudus, completed junior secondary education in 1953 in Salatiga, and completed high school education in 1956 (Wikipedia calls it 1957) in Semarang. After graduating from high school, he continued his studies at the Department of English Literature, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. He completed his higher education in 1963.

After graduating from UGM, Budi Darma worked as a lecturer at the English Department of the IKIP Surabaya   now the State University of Surabaya (Unesa). This work he has been doing since 1963 until now. In his career as a lecturer at the State University of Surabaya / IKIP Surabaya, he had served as Head of the Department of English Literature (1966-1970 and 1980-1984), Dean of the Teaching Faculty of Letters and Arts (1963-1966 and 1970-1974), and Rector of the IKIP Surabaya ( 1984—1988). Now Budi Darma is a professor at the State University of Surabaya. Apart from teaching at this college in Surabaya, he also teaches at a number of foreign universities.

Budi Darma earned his Master of Arts in English Creative Writing in 1975 at Indiana University, United States. He attended a university based in the City of Bloomington, Indiana, with a scholarship fee. With a scholarship from The Ford Foundation, he then completed his doctoral education (Doctor of Philosophy) at the same university in 1980. After earning a doctorate, Budi Darma became a visiting research associate at Indiana University. In 1967, for three months, he attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, United States. In 1970 - 1971, he also received a scholarship from the East West Center to undertake a non-degree study of basic humanities 'basic humanities' at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, United States.

Indonesian Prose reformer

Budi Darma began to be active and productive in writing since 1968/1969. Besides in Indonesian, he also writes in English. His writings are in the form of short stories, novels, essays and papers. Apart from the short anthology of Kritisus Adinan  (2002), until now a number of his books have been published; among others, Olenka  (novel, 1983), Rafilus  (novel, 1998), Ny. Talis  (novel, 1996), Bloomington's People  (collection of short stories, 1981), Soliloquy  (collection of essays, 1983), A number of Literary Essays  (collection of essays, 1984), Harmonium  (collection of essays, 1995), Fofo and Senggring  (collection of essays , 2005), as well as a translated work (The Legacy  by Intsi V. Himanyunga, 1996). Other works include Modern Literature of ASEAN  (Chief Editor, 2000) and ASEAN Literary Essay Collection  (ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information). The non-literary books that he has produced include, among others, History of November 10, 1945  (Pemda Jatim, 1987) and Culture in Surabaya  (IKIP Surabaya, 1992).

His short stories are published in the literary magazine Horison, Kompas daily (Sunday edition), as well as the Best Short Story Collection  book selected by Kompas. His inspiring essays have also been published in Horizon  and Kompas. Some of his short stories written in English have been published in various mass media published in Indiana, Bloomington. Other writings have been published in several magazines, including, Budaja  (Yogyakarta), Basis  (Yogyakarta), Gama  (Yogyakarta), Gadjah Mada  (Yogyakarta), Gema Mahasiswa  (Yogyakarta), Contact  (Yogyakarta), Tjerita  (Jakarta), Indonesia  (Jakarta), Roman  (Jakarta), Forum  (Jakarta), and Gelora  (Surabaya), as well as the newspapers Berita Nasional  (Yogyakarta), Minggu Pagi  (Yogyakarta), Kontak  (Surabaya), Jawa Pos (Surabaya), and Indonesia  (Semarang).

 Budi Darma's name began to skyrocket and became widely known in the literary world since publishing a number of absurd short stories in the literary magazine Horison  in the 1970s. During his stay in Bloomington City, he wrote eight short stories which were later published in the book collection of short stories The People of Bloomington (1980) and the novel Olenka  (1983). The short story "People of Bloomington" won the SEA Write Award from the Thai Government (1984). Olenka, published by Balai Pustaka, received a wide and positive response from critics, observers and literary connoisseurs. The novel, written at the end of 1979, is considered to have brought a renewal in storytelling techniques. Budi Darma won various awards through Olenka. Olenka  became the first winner of the Jakarta Arts Council Roman Contest (1980). Olenka  also received the Jakarta Arts Council Literature Prize (1983). A year later (1984), Olenka  also won the ASEAN Literature Prize (SEA Write Award).

Budi Darma's prose works (short stories and novels) are discussed in a separate chapter in the book by the critic A. Teeuw, Modern Indonesian Literature  (Volume 2). Budi Darma's short story published by Horizon, "The Child" by Satyagaraha Hoerip was included in the anthology of Indonesian Short Stories (Volume 3). His short story entitled “Pria Pemanggul Goni” was chosen as the best short story for Kompas  daily in 2012, while another short story, “Derabat”, was made the title of the 1999 Compass Best Short Story Collection  and Budi Darma was named as a short story writer who is loyal to his age. The two short stories were transformed into a drama, namely “Orez” (performed by ISI Yogyakarta students) and “Kritisus Adinan” (performed by STSI Bandung students).

Budi Darma's contribution to the progress of literature is considered very large. His short stories and novels brought new changes in storytelling and characterization techniques, which in turn influenced many Indonesian short stories and novelists who emerged afterward. Budi Darma's storytelling technique is often seen as a collage technique, while the characters he displays often have strange or absurd characters. Together with Iwan Simatupang, Putu Wijaya, and Danarto, he is often categorized as a reformer of modern Indonesian literature for the prose genre.

Budi Darma has an amazing speed in writing short stories or novels. He is used to writing without prior planning. Olenka's novel, which won various awards, for example, was completed in just three weeks. In an interview with the journal Prose  (2003), he said, “I write without my plans, and also without a draft. If writing could be equated with fighting, I just followed the mood, without outlining strategy, nor detailing tactics. Behind the mood, meanwhile, there's an obsession.”

 Achievement Figures

While studying in the United States, Budi Darma was included in the category of outstanding students so that his name was immortalized in Who's Who in The World  (1982/1983). He was registered as a member of the Modern Language Association (MLA), New York, for the period 1977—1990. His name is also listed in the book Indonesian Author Encyclopedia.  When he graduated from his undergraduate education from the UGM Faculty of Letters and Culture, he won the Bintang Wisuda Bhakti award as the best graduate.

Budi Darma was declared a Surabaya citizen with achievements in literature for two consecutive times, namely in 1987 and 1988, by the Mayor of Surabaya, Purnomo Kasidi. In 2004, he was awarded the citizen with artistic achievement by the governor of East Java. In 1993, he was awarded the Indonesian Government Art Award.

As a writer, academician, and intellectual, Budi Darma is often asked to give lectures, teach, and test prospective scholars or doctor of literature both at home and abroad. Not infrequently he also received invitations to do research, especially on English or American literature. In the midst of his busy schedule, he is listed as the chief editor of the Modern Literature of ASEAN  (2000) published by the ASEAN COCI (Committee on Cultural Information). This book discusses the development of literature in several ASEAN countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Budi Darma has participated in literary and cultural broadcast programs at RRI (Semarang, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya) and TVRI  (Surabaya).

In the collaboration of Mastera (Southeast Asian Literature Council), Budi Darma has been a guide for young short stories, essays and novelists from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia in the Mastera Writing Program (1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008). He was appointed as a comparative literary expert in the Indonesian Mastera expert membership. This man who is known to be friendly and polite is also involved in mentoring various workshops and literature upgrading for Language Center employees and young lecturers from various universities in Indonesia which are held by the Language Center, Ministry of National Education.

Budi Darma is known as a character who has broad insight because of his passion for reading and writing. This creative writer has a passion for reading since he was a teenager. When he was in junior high school in Salatiga, he had read a lot of Indonesian and foreign literary books. In the Salatiga government library, he often fills his spare time devouring works by Idrus, Merari Siregar, Suman Hs., and so on. With only limited English skills, he also read works by Karl May, Hector Malot, Alexander Dumas, and so on. The story in one of the Russian short stories (in English) entitled "The Darling" is more or less related to Olenka's character in Olenka's novel.

Budi Darma's penchant for reading is thought to have been transmitted by his mother, who had a good reading tradition for her era. The literature that his mother read a lot was puppet stories and Javanese mythology. In addition, when studying at UGM, Budi Darma stayed at the house of his uncle who was a lecturer and legal expert, namely Prof. Mr. Notosusanto (Nugroho Notosusanto's father - writer, historian, and former minister of education and culture). The scientific discussions that were often held with his uncle also opened and broadened Budi Darma's scientific horizons.

 

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