Conversations

by Budi Darma

Budi Darma's stories are absurdist and surreal. Often in conversation form, they draw content from mythology, legends, and fables. There is an omnipresent mood of darkness that pervades much of his writing; a kind of bleak perspective that lies behind a thin cloak of normality and peace. In the modernist manner, Darma is interested in style, structure, themes, and plot. Yet at the same time, he disavows himself pf the role of creator and regards his short stories as being the result of something external.

164 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2015

About the author

Budi Darma lahir di Rembang, Jawa Tengah, 25 April 1937. Semasa kecil dan remaja ia berpindah-pindah ke berbagai kota di Jawa, mengikuti ayahnya yang bekerja di jawatan pos. Lulus dari SMA di Semarang pada 1957, ia memasuki Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra dan Kebudayaan, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Lulus dari UGM, ia bekerja sebagai dosen pada Jurusan Bahasa Inggris—kini Universitas Negeri Surabaya—sampai kini. Di universitas ini ia pernah memangku jabatan Ketua Jurusan Inggris, Dekan Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni, dan Rektor. Sekarang ia adalah guru besar dalam sastra Inggris di sana. Ia juga mengajar di sejumlah universitas luar negeri.

Budi Darma mulai dikenal luas di kalangan sastra sejak ia menerbitkan sejumlah cerita pendek absurd di majalah sastra Horison pada 1970-an. Jauh kemudian hari sekian banyak cerita pendek ini terbit sebagai Kritikus Adinan (2002).

Budi Darma memperoleh gelar Master of Arts dari English Department, Indiana University, Amerika Serikat pada 1975. Dari universitas yang sama ia meraih Doctor of Philosophy dengan disertasi berjudul “Character and Moral Judgment in Jane Austen’s Novel” pada 1980. Di kota inilah ia menggarap dan merampungkan delapan cerita pendek dalam Orang-orang Bloomington (terbit 1980) dan novel Olenka (terbit 1983, sebelumnya memenangkan hadiah pertama sayembara penulisan novel Dewan Kesenian Jakarta 1980).

Ia juga tampil sebagai pengulas sastra. Kumpulan esainya adalah Solilokui (1983), Sejumlah Esai Sastra (1984), dan Harmonium (1995). Setelah Olenka, ia menerbitkan novel-novel Rafilus (1988) dan Ny. Talis (1996). Belakangan, Budi Darma juga menyiarkan cerita di surat kabar, misalnya Kompas; pada 1999 dan 2001 karyanya menjadi cerita pendek terbaik di harian itu. Cerpennya, "Laki-laki Pemanggul Goni," merupakan cerpen terbaik Kompas 2012.

Dalam sebuah wawancara di jurnal Prosa (2003), lelaki yang selalu tampak santun, rapi, dan lembut-tutur-kata ini sekali lagi mengakui, “...saya menulis tanpa saya rencanakan, dan juga tanpa draft. Andaikata menulis dapat disamakan dengan bertempur, saya hanya mengikuti mood, tanpa menggariskan strategi, tanpa pula merinci taktik. Di belakang mood, sementara itu, ada obsesi.”

Reviews

[Jacob Buckton]

Love the weirdness and the way the underlying feeling of threat/darkness is evoked from almost nothing. Some stories feel more obviously allegorical (eg Derabat) but I think I prefer the ones that leave you guessing, and seem to mock you with their lack of resolution or apparent message (eg Little Bluke last line: “Little Bluke and his teacher looked at each other.”), or abruptly change tack to something seemingly completely unrelated right at the end (eg Conversations last line: “On a stage near a European bakery, people were starting to prepare a fashion parade.”). They really keep you alert and uncomfortable and I enjoyed that experience as a reader :)

[Nik Maack]

Sometimes when you read a book from another culture, you get the feeling that there's something you're just not getting. References to politics you're unaware of, details of a history you don't know, religious symbolism from a religion you know nothing about. This book creates these feelings in me. Do I get it? Do I not get it? And does it even matter?

Some of the stories are great. Many are baffling. Some, because of the missing cultural context, may be far more surreal than I understand. Or less surreal. Who can say?

They are surreal and dreamy stories. It's possible I don't get them. That's okay. I still had fun.

[Ester]

These stories show that Indonesian identity has always been global. I like Budi Darma’s writing.