Budi Darma

Budi Darma
Darma in 2018
Born	(1937-04-25)25 April 1937 Rembang, Central Java, Java, Indonesia
Died	21 August 2021(2021-08-21) (aged 84) Surabaya, East Java, Java, Indonesia
Occupation	Essayist, Novelist, Literary Critic, Literature Professor
Nationality	Indonesian

Budi Darma (25 April 1937 – 21 August 2021) was an Indonesian writer, essayist, and academic.

Early life

Budi is the fourth of six children, all male.^[1] During his childhood and teens, Budi and his family lived in a number of different cities in Java, including Yogyakarta, Bandung and Semarang, due to the nature of his father's position in the postal service.^[2] His schooling reflected his family's nomadic existence. Budi attended elementary school in Kudus, junior high in Salatiga, and high school in Semarang, graduating from there in 1957.^[2] He then studied at the English Literature Department, Faculty of Letters, University of Gadjah Mada.^[2] After graduating in 1963, Budi moved to Iowa for the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.^[1] In 1970, he received a scholarship from the East-West Center to study humanities at the University of Hawaii, before graduating with an MA from Indiana University Bloomington in 1976.^[3] Four years later, in 1980, he earned his Ph.D. for his dissertation on "Character and Moral Judgment in Jane Austen's Novels", from the same university.^[2]

Academia

Budi's return to Indonesia was followed by a succession of notable appointments: between the years 1984-1987 he was appointed Dean of the English Department of the State University of Surabaya (formerly IKIP Surabaya), became a member of the Arts Council, and Rector of the Surabaya Teachers' Training College.^[3] Budi Darma continued lecturing at the English Department of the State University of Surabaya until his retirement, at the age of 70, in 2007.^[4]

Literary works

Budi is often described as one of Indonesia's most influential writers.^[5] In 1983 Budi wrote the novel, Olenka. It was his first novel, inspired by a woman he met while studying at Bloomington. The title was taken from a collection of short stories by Anton Chekov.^[6] Although set in America, the novel remains steadfastly Indonesian in its use of Javanese wordplay to tell the story of an amorous plight of a young man with Olenka, the female heroine. Budi has explained his reasons for his choice of style as being due to his firm belief that a writer will never lose his or her roots, no matter how distanced from their place of birth.^[6] The novel was published by Balai Pustaka and went on to win several awards including the Jakarta Art Institute Literary award and the S.E.A. Write Award (Southeast Asian Write award).^[6] "Olenka" has been reprinted several times, the most recent reprinting coincided with the Indonesian Book Festival in Senayan, Central Jakarta in 2009.^[6]

Although Olenka is his best known work, Budi was also the author of several novels, a number of collections of short stories and essays.^[2] Prior to writing Olenka, he published an anthology of eight short stories, called Orang-orang Bloomington (Bloomington People) (published 1980).^[2] After Olenka, he wrote the novels Rafilus, published in 1988, and Ny. Talis, published in 1996.^[2] As of 2010, Budi Darma had authored over 38 works, many of which are available in translation worldwide.^[7]

Death

Budi died on 21 August 2021, at the age of 84, from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.^[8][9][10]

Accolades

• S.E.A. Write Award (Thailand) (1984)
• Indonesian Government Arts Award (1993)
• The Best Story Writer of 1999 (1999)
• Satya Lencana Kebudayaan (2003)
• Achmad Bakrie Award (2005) Freedom Institute
• Mastera Literary Award (Brunei) (2011)
• The Best Story Writer of 2012 (2012) [1]
• Most Dedicated Intellectuals of 2013 (2013) [2]

Notable works

Book

• Pengantar Teori Sastra (2005)
• Pengantar Teori Sastra (2019)

Novel

• Olenka (1983)^[6]
• Rafilus (1988)
• Ny.Talis (1995)

Short story

• Derabat (1977)
• Kecap Nomor Satu di Sekeliling Bayi (1969)
• Ranjang (1970)
• Nancy Krie (1970)
• Tanah Minta Digarap (1970)
• Mangut-Mangut Semacam Ini Biasakah (1970)
• Mbah Jambe (1970)
• Pistol (1970)
• Bulan (1973)
• Kitri (1970)
• Pengantin (1971)
• Sebelum Esok Tiba (1971)
• Gadis (1971)
• Anak (1972)
• Alang Kepalang (1976)
• Gauhati (1984)
• Madelun (1993)
• Mata yang Indah (2001)
• Kisah Pilot Bejo (2007)
• Bluke Kecil (2009)
• Misbahul (2010)
• Pohon Jejawi (2010)^[11]
• Laki-laki Pemanggul Goni (2012) ^[12]
• Tangan-tangan Buntung (2012)^[13]
• Dua Sahabat (2013)
• Percakapan (2013)^[14]
• Tanda Tanya (2013)^[15]
• Angela (2014)^[16]
• Hotel Tua (2014)^[17]
• Sang Pemahat (2015)^[18]
• Dua Penyanyi (2015)^[19]
• Presiden Jebule (2016)
• Darojat dan Istrinya (2016)
• Tukang Cukur (2016)
• Bukan Mahasiswa Saya (2017)
• Tarom (2017)
• Suara di Bandara (2018)
• Lorong Gelap (2018)
• Tamu (2019)

Short story anthology

• Orang-orang Bloomington (1980)
• Kritikus Adinan (2002)
• Fofo & Senggring (2005)
• Orez
• Laki-laki Lain dalam Sepucuk Surat: pilihan cerita (2008)

Essay

• Sebuah Solilokui mengenai Goenawan Mohamad (1977)
• Pengaruh Zionisme atas Sastra Dunia (1978)
• Sastra Amerika Masa Kini (1979)
• Beberapa Gejala dalam Penulisan Prosa (1983)
• Keindahan: Pandangan Romantik (1983)
• Novel Indonesia adalah Dunia Melodrama (1983)
• Persoalan Proses Kreatif (1983)
• Kemampuan Mengebor Sukma (1984)
• Perihal Kritik Sastra (1984)
• Kritikus Nirdawat: Seorang Kritikus Sastra (1985)
• Pengalaman Pribadi dengan Nugraho Notosusastro (1985)
• Perkembangan Puisi Indonesia (1985)
• Manusia Indonesia Berbicara (1987)
• Kritik Sastra dan Karya Sastra (1987)
• Romantika Sastra, Kita (1988)
• Tanggung Jawab Pengarang (1988)
• Konstalasi Sastra : Homo Comparatikus (1989)
• Melihat Citra Bangsa melalui Novel (1990)
• Sastra Indonesia Mutakhir (1990)
• Stagnasi Kritik Sastra (1990)
• Kisah Sebuah Odise (1991)
• Sastra dan Kebudayaan (1992)
• Novel dan Jati Diri (1993)
• Manusia Konotasi dan Manusia Denotasi (1997)
• Mempersoalkan Cerita Pendek (1999)
• Jebakan Rogue Journals (2019)
• Jebakan Rouque Journals (2019)
• Jebakan Roque Jurnals (2019)
• Dalang Wayang Kulit (2000)
• Pendidikan Seni Pertunjukan (2000)
• Suratman Markasan : Sastra Melayu Singapura (2000)
• Fiksi dan Biografi (2001)
• Ironi si Kembar Siam : Tentang Posmo dan Kajian Budaya (2001)
• Manusia sebagai Makhluk Budaya (2001)
• Sastra dan Kebangsaan (2001)
• Sastra dan Pluralisme (2001)
• Visi Pengembangan Kebudayaan (2001)
• Memperhitungkan Masa Lampau (2004)
• Bahasa yang Indah (2012)
• Mempertanyakan Orhan Pamuk (2012)
• Penulisan Sejarah Indonesia (2014)
• Tersandera oleh Wibawa (2015)
• Ketika Lapis Atas dan Bawah Sama-sama Timpang (2015)^[20]
• Berdoa Kepada Tuhan (2016) ^[21]

Essay anthology

• Solilokui (1983)
• Sejumlah Esai Sastra (1984)
• Harmonium (1995)
• Moral dalam Sastra (1981)
• Art and Culture in Surabaya: A Brief Introduction (1992)

Translation

The Legacy (1996)

Non-Literature

• Sejarah 10 November 1945 (1987, Pemda Jatim)
• Culture in Surabaya (1992, IKIP Surabaya)
• Modern Literature of ASEAN (Chief Editor, 2000)
• Kumpulan Esai Sastra ASEAN Asean Committee on Culture and Information

References

This page was last edited on 15 June 2024, at 18:43