March is the month of the biggest literary festival in ASEAN (after Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, of course), the event called ASEAN Literary Festival was held again in Jakarta, Indonesia, since last year. This March 15-22 2015 was the second time. Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, was where this event takes place.

Day seven, Saturday, March 21 I came to see this “Question of Conscience” festival since I didn’t come to see it last year. There are several discussions in this session. I’m in these three discussions “Literature in Digital Era”, “Digital Generation Tells Their Stories”, and “Indonesia as Told”. I’m a kind of technology enthusiast, I always excited to know and discuss how today every-digital-thing help and affect human’s life.

Printed book or E-book, which one do you prefer?

The first discussion begins with the title “Literature in Digital Era”. Saras Dewi was the moderator. The speakers were Indonesian Poet Saut Situmorang, John Iremil Teodoro a writer from Philippine and Shintaro Uchinuma a bookstore businessman from Japan. These three people will talk about their opinion, their thought, about how literature should be in this digital era.

I was excited with their opinion. Saut Situmorang as the revolutionary in Indonesian literature when he came with his online website called Cyber Sastra against the opinion about what he did is nothing but Trash Literature. And finally, people against him in the past stand with him today. It is interesting how he changed the old tradition in our country at that time. Although, not only Saut changed that old tradition but also time changed people. This is makes people against him are stand with him today because the time itself has changed. We can’t deny that today we live in the digital era and we enjoy every easiness technology gave to us, including in the literary world. It simply makes literature can be produced and enjoyed by everyone.

The other interesting things about Saut are his opinion about printed book and originality. Saut said that this digital era is no longer need a printed book. Not really. But look at this gadget generation, they take their gadget everywhere they go, they check it every time. Media has its own website, online magazine, and online newspaper. And the books are now can be read as an e-book. He said that bookstore has lost its fascination because today’s generation prefers to download and buy an e-book than to buy a printed book. He himself no longer buys a printed book because it hard to bring everywhere and sometimes a book such a classic book is hard to find. But sometimes he download an e-book and print it himself “It is illegal actually, I know, but it is nice” he said.

John has his own opinion. He said, in his hometown in Philippine (I forgot which part of Philippine he was) the digital generation prefers to download an e-book than to buy a printed book. Because it is cheap even free. Before all, he read an essay of his own, about a condition in Philippine and how a reading interest there, but I just got a bit from his explanation. As Saut said, he also prefer to read an e-book than a printed book because printed book can’t be carried everywhere, it has a size and volume so it is hard to take it all when he go somewhere or been in the traffic jam. But e-book is easy to bring, and of course, it’s saving place. But he admits that he has his own printed book collection in his own house about classic literature, a copy of Virginia Wolf, Emily Bronte, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, etc. and also has their e-book. “Read an e-book doesn’t mean we no longer use the printed book. But we take time with both of them. Means that sometime or some condition we enjoy reading a printed book, and sometimes we enjoy reading e-book.”

In contrary with Saut and John’s opinion, in Japan, there is an unusual bookstore where we can read a book while eating, drinking, have a discussion, and meet the author. The interior design of this bookstore is amazing! This bookstore was made by Shintaro Uchinuma. He makes a bookstore, cafe, and restaurant at the same time and place. This idea came according to his research about reading interest in Japan. He also shows the diagram and presents his research. He facilitates even makes community such as “reader community” to use his place or it can be called as event organizer. Looking at this, I think he makes such an innovation by make a bookstore become not bored anymore and get its fascination again. “I also make a weekly event such as discussion and meet the author in my bookstore, so the author can also promote their books.” What an amazing innovation you got there, Shintaro!

What is the real writer?

The next talk is about the existence of the writer. The question is what is the real writer? Are they who write everything in their own diary or social media or the popular one; Blog or something like that, are can be called as a writer? Me as a writer in my own blog never called myself as a writer, because in my opinion writer is those who got their name publish with their own work in the media (online or printed) such as newspaper, book, magazine, etc. I have ever meet a person in the bookstore tell he is a writer, I ask about what he write “I write a poetry or short story sometimes” I feel like ‘Oh, really? But I don’t know you and never read your work!’ I write it in my own blog and social media, he said.

John said that the writer can be everyone who always writes something useful, something interesting, something great, something that can be called as literary work of course, and the media can be not only in the newspaper, magazine, or book but also can be in their own social media and blog. Remember that we live in the digital era!

Same with John, but a bit addition, Saut said the writer can be everyone but there are some people that can’t “move on” with the argument that the writer is they who has their name printed on their literary work and writing can’t be do by anyone. That is why has your own publish book or have your work publish is become important.

What about the originality?

As a blogger, we often worried our work copied by someone that we called a plagiarism. So how can we anticipate such thing because blog or social media has no copyright? Saut Situmorang has his own argument.

“The originality is complicated. There is no something original in this world” he begins with tell us about the originality of words ‘I love you’. Who is the founder of these words? We don’t know. If the founder of these words patented it or has a copyright of it, we should pay the royalty to them if we use it in our work. Literary work was made by copying others. In other name, we always copy other work and other work copy other work or someone idea and make it become ours by developing some part, without we realize it. He adds, if we want to write, just write, no matter our writing will be known by the other or not, and it copied by someone or not, just write, sooner or later people will know and appreciate our work. Remember that the name “Writer” was not given by our self but by the people who read and appreciate our work then they believe that we are a writer! But, what kind of writer are you? It depends on what you write.

At the end of discussion, Saut ask the other two speaker about how the poet existence in their country, are they still produced their book of poetry anthology or not? John answers that in Philippine the poet has lost their existence; their popularity is not popular anymore, but there are still some poets exist. Japan today has no poet that still productive make a printed of their work, Shintaro Uchinuma said that there is a poet –the only poet that still has his existence till now, he is Shuntaro.

Look back at the literature history, literary work can only make and read by the high class people or we called it the borjuis. Is that still happen today? As we live in the different time, different people, different thought, are we still imprisoned with the so-last-century-people-thought? I think the answer is ya! Even though we can write everything came out from our brain, and we call it as a produced of literary work, the only people can decide whether it is can be called as literary work or not is those borjuis people!

Being Digital Writer as the First Step to be the Real Writer

“Digital Generation tells their stories” was the title of the second discussion I’m in. The speakers were three Indonesian young writers; a short story writer Rio Johan, his book “Aksara Amananuna” got the best book of Tempo 2014, an author of Pelesir Mimpi (poetry anthology) Adimas Immanuel, and a novel writer Bernard Batubara. (Sad to admit that I didn’t know these three Indonesian young writers, never read their work  so I feel like ‘who is these three people sitting in front of me, huh?’ huehehe). This discussion led by Okky Madasari, the winner of Khatulistiwa Award 2012 (Maryam) and as the program director of ASEAN Literary Festival 2015.

These three young writers tell their story about how they begin their writing-carrier, how can they publish their work, where they get the inspiration and how they promote their work.

Begins with Blog

Bernard Batubara and Rio Johan are joining the website called Kemudian.com and start to post their work into that website then got a bad critique. But Adimas, he has his own blog and post his work on it. After knowing that they have their “loyal reader” who always appreciates their work, then they publish their work in print. Adimas (Kata Bergerak), Rio Johan and Bernard (Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia).  Maybe there are so many writer begins their carrier with blog or other social media such as Raditya Dika, Alit Susanto, etc.

Where is the inspiration coming?

The inspiration will come every time and everywhere. As Rio Johan said, the inspiration come while we watch the television, reading, experiencing something, knowing someone experience, see around us, or can be after we read other’s work. Rio himself got the inspiration in his short story when he read an article in the internet.

As we already knew, we live in the digital generation, we are generation digital. We take advantages from the easiness technology gave to us, also in the writing. Get the inspiration nowadays is not something difficult, we have the internet and Google knows everything we want to know. There is no reason to know nothing!

Promote your work using social media? Why not!

Bernard Batubara is the expert using social media as a tool to promote his work. Followed by Adimas and Rio. But Rio has a difficulty to promote his book in social media. I have a communication problem, he said. It makes that communication is something important in the literary world nowadays. In this digital era, we are no longer wait our book being best seller without promote it our self. Social media help us to promote our work! Go used it!

Actually, I didn’t follow this discussion till end, so I don’t know what they talked again after that. :D

Literary Work capture the history

“Indonesia as told” had Okky Madasari and Michael as the speakers. These two writers use the history as their own theme in their work. Okky’s novels are talking about the social problem, politics, race, culture and woman in Indonesia. Michael, as he is not Indonesian, he writes a book about Indonesia as Okky did.  They realize that not every detail of history is written in the book history, even people sometime know nothing about history that forgotten or not written because sometime history can be manipulated or deliberately hidden by certain people for certain purpose.

But literary work is just tell the reader about the reality that happen during that time, it help us to know what, not to know how! Means that literary work is not produced to give us the resolution of the problem in the reality, but it shows what happen and how it can be, to open our eyes that blind.

With Okky Madasari

That was the last great discussion, the literary party was begin again with the poetry reading perform in the theatre. That was nice, and sure I had such a great time! Thanks ALF!