AanMansyurWantstoGotoNewYork

AnemergingyoungIndonesianpoetwritespoemsaboutNewYorkwithouteven
visitingthecity.Andnowhereapssuccessoutofit.
AanMansyurneverthoughtofbeingsofamouslikenowadays.Hispoemscollection
bookTidakAdaNewYorkHariIni(ThereIsNoNewYorkToday)isnowsoldout
andsoughtafteralmostanywhere.Afriendofminehadtocontactmeonlytoaskmeto
gethersomeforherselfandanotherfriend.BecauseIcouldntfindthebookatany
bookstoresnearby.Soldout,theysaid,sheexplained.
StillworkingasalibrarianatKatakerjaCreativeRoom,Makassar,Mansyurseemstobe
oneofthemostproductiveandpromisingyoungpoetsinthearchipelago.PriortoTidak
AdaNewYorkHariIni,healreadypublishedAkuHendakPindahRumah(IWantto
Move)(2008),TokohtokohyangMelawanKitadalamSatuCerita(TheFigureswho
ResistUsinaStory)(2012),SudahkahKauMemelukDirimuHariIni?(HaveYou
GivenYourselfaHugToday?)(2012),Kukila(2012),Kepalaku:KantorPalingSibuk
diDunia(MyHead:TheBusiestOfficeonEarth)(2014),MelihatApiBekerja
(WitnessingFlameWorking)(2015),LelakiTerakhiryangMenangisdiBumi(TheLast
CryingManonEarth)(2015).
MansyurjustrecentlyrosetostardomwhenoneofhispoemswasrecitedbyRangga,a
dashingmaleprotagonistof"AdaApadenganCinta2(AADC2)embodiedby
NicholasSaputra,oneofIndonesianheartthrobs.Inaninstant,hispoemsareindemand
liketheyhadneverbeenbefore.Moviegoersnowknowhimasafledglingandtalented
poetbehindbeautifulpoemsinAADC2.
TheyoungIndonesianpoethadworkedsohardtobeatthepointheisnowat.Leaving
anIslamicboardingschool(pondokpesantren)atsuchayoungage,Mansyurrealizedhe
hasoftenbeenrescuedbypoetryinthemiddleoflifecrises.Withpoetry,hehas
managedtosavehimselfbecausehefeltlikehehadtocommunicateandconvey
something.
Mansyurfellinloveforthefirsttimewithpoemsduringhishighschooldays.Heleftthe
boardingschoolandmovedtoanotherschoolwithnoonetobefriend.Hesoughtrefuge
toalibrarywherehediscoveredSimponiDua,apoetrybookbySubagyo
Sastrowardoyo.
Asasicklyandthinyoungboybackthen,Mansyurfeltforlornandhadnofriends.The
ladwassopessimisticandlonelyhegottothepointwherehefeltluckytolivebyand
surviveanotherday.Hethoughthewouldjustdiesoonofsickness.
UponreadingSubagyospoems,hewasawestruck.Hesuddenlyrealizedhehadsomuch
totalkaboutthislife.Andpoetrywasjusttherightmediumashewasnotatalkative

personinthefirstplace.Itwassocooltoseepeoplecanwriteshortlikethisbutitcan
containmanythingstoimagine.Mansyuralsofindsomeliterarybooksbelongingtohis
grandfatherbuttherewerenotmanypoetrybooksinthecollection.
Butdonotbefooled!Mansyurconfessedheisnoavidreaderofbooks.Asheputit,he
becamealibrarianandpoetbecausehewasdrivenbyhisoverflowingcuriosityoflife.
Hechosethejobasalibrariantocompelhimtoread.Andafterreadinghewouldknow
moreandthushecanlateranswerallthequestionsinhidownhead.
FromhisacquaintanceshipwithSubagyoSastrowardoyosliteraryworks,Mansyur
workedveryhardduringhisteenageyearstoemulatetheidol.Ifailedbecauseitturned
outhewasmoreaphilosopherthanapoet.HewroteaboutphilosophyinhispoemsandI
wascluelessaboutphilosophyatthetime,heargued.Andafterheworkedonhispoems
withsuchenergytoimitateSubagyo,afriendcommentedMansyurspoemsreadlike
onesofSapardiDojokoDamono,anotherrenownedIndonesianpoet.Atthispoint,ithad
dawnedonhimthathecouldnotbeanotherSubagyooranotherseniorpoet.Whathe
coulddowasreadtheirpoemsandidentifywhichpartsofthemthatheidentifiedaspiece
ofhimselfandleaveotherpartsthatsimplydonotfithimasapersonandpoet.
Raisedasanorphan,Mansyurtookagreatdealofinspirationfromhismotherandgrand
mother.Thatexplainedwhyheadmittedhelearnedalotfromfemalepoets.
ThreeofhispoetrybooksarenowpublishedinMalaysiaandselllikepeanuts,he
claimed.ThismakesMansyurbelievehecangointernationalandhisworkscanbe
enjoyedbygreateraudienceoutsidehishomecountrywithouthisworksbeingtranslated
intoEnglish.
Athisbooklaunch,MansyurwhowasborninBone,SouthSulawesigotanofferfrom
LesmanainApril2015.AndMansyurwasmorethanhappytolendahand.Heagreedon
contributinghispoemstothemovie.Heevenacknowledgedthemoviehascontributeda
lotinshapingthecontemporaryIndonesiaspoetrylandscape.AADCwassuchahitin
theearly2000snotonlyinIndonesiabutalsointheneighboringcountriessuchas
MalaysiaandBrunei.ThisyearsLesmanalaunchedthesequelanditreceivedpositive
reviewsandintenseandwidelysharedenthusaismamongthemoviegoers.
Themoviehasonceagainbroughtpoemsintothemainstreamtrends.Mansyurobserved
ithelpedencouragemoreyoungreadersinindonesiatoreadmoreIndonesiapoetry.
Suddenlyeveryonereadspoems,andthesepeoplearenotthoseoldgenerationintheir
60sor70swhowereborninthebrighterageofIndonesianpoetry.Youngreadersare
nowthrivingonceagainthankstoRangga,whowasdepictedasanerdy,yettalland
handsomebookwormlurkingataschoollibrary.Nowreadingpoemsseemstobea
normalandcoolpastimeforstudentsofallages.
Buthowdidtheyoungpoetgetalltheinspiration?Howwashiscreativeprocessactually

takingplace?Firstthingfirst,Mansyurrefusedtowritepoemsonlytobereadbyother
poets.Mansyurdeniedhewritespoemsforallhisfemalefanswarmlyinteractingwith
himviahisTwitteraccount,@hurufkecil.Headmittedthattheoneandonlypersonhe
wantstoreadallhispoemsbeforeanyoneelsedoesishismother,wholivesfaraway
fromwherehelivesnow.Heonlymeetshismotheroncein45years.Andthisiswhyhe
treatsallhispoetryreadersjustlikehismother.Anearnessbetweentwohearts,rather
thantwophysicalbeings.
Itwasweirdtoseeapoetwiththemostearnestandserious,longfacelikeMansyurs
talkingoutloudatastageatAseanLiteraryFestival2016whereanyonecanseehim
exposinghimselfandhisprivatedetails.ButMansyuradmittedheisnotaverbalperson
tohismother.ShelivesinBalikpapan,whileI'minMakassar.Ifyoufindmylanguage
inmypoemseasytodigest,thatisbecausemymother.Sheisjustagraduateofjunior
highschool,Mansyurelaborated.Hismotherisnotatypeofdemandingparentwho
keepscallingtocheckuponhisson.Hismothermisseshim,forexample,whenhedoes
notwriteheranypoemaftertwoweeks.IeithersendmypoemstoherorIrecitemy
latestpoemstoheronthephoneforquitealongtime,headded.
ToproduceanampleamountofpoemsforAADC2,Mansyurworkedwitha
photographerwhomheconfessedhe"neverhadmetevenoncebefore.Afterwriting
poems,thepoetwastosendthemtothephotographerwholivesinNewYork.TheBig
ApplewaschosenasthebackgroundbecauseAADC2tellsRanggahasmovedtothe
cityafter14yearsofleavingIndonesia,acountrywherehishighschoolcrushCinta
(DianSastro)resideswithallherfriends.ThoughhehasnevervisitedNewYorksofar,
Mansyurwasaskedbythephotographer,HowlonghaveyoubeeninNewYork?That
indicatedthedepthofhisunderstandingofthecityafterdoingprofoundresearchalone.
Fromtheresearch,hefoundoutwhatpoetrybooktitlesonecannormallyfindatbook
shelvesatatypicalbookstoreinNewYork.Oneofthebooksinspiredhimtovisit
bookstoresinNewYorkandgethimthebookhementionedbuthasnotreadjustyet.He
likesthispoemmostalthoughitisnotrecitedbyRanggainthemovie.
InAADC2,Ranggaisportrayedasarestlessyetestablishedyoungmaninhismature
age.Hetriestoconsolehimselfbyvisitingasmallbookstoreintheneighborhoodandget
himselfapoetrybooktoreadtokillthetimeandthesoulcrushinglonelinesshehas
endured.
Asayoungpoet,Mansyurdefineshimselfassomeonewhoisnotothers.Ihavetoknow
otherpoetsoriginalitybeforegettingtoknowmine.Iidentifymyselfbygettingtoknow
poetsotherthanmyselfandreadingandmodifyingtheirpoetryuntilIarrivedtoa
conclusionthateverypoethasherownstrategy,viewsonlanguages,andwaysof
thinking.Irealizewesometimesdohavesimilaritiesbutinsomepointswehavetopart
wayssomehow,Mansyurremarked.
Hehasseentherisingsignificanceofresearchasapoetthesedays.Armedwithgreat

detailsfromdeepresearch,heisconvincedanypoetcangeneratemasterpieces.He
stronglybelievesinthedefinitionofwritingpoemsasanintellectualundertaking.Andhe
doesresearchasheisfueledbyunwaveringcuriositybecausetohim,writingpoetryisa
notameansoftellingreaderswhathealreadyknows.Rather,itisameansoftelling
themwhatheknowsnothingabout.Mansyurturnspoetryintoavehiclethatleadshimto
theanswerstoanyquestionsthathethinksmightthreatenhislife.
MansyurisaccusedoftakingadvantageoftheromanticallyanxiousIndonesianyouths
becauseheselectsloveasthegrandthemeofhispoets.Buthethinksthereisnothing
wrongwithusingloveasthethetheme.Hejokinglyarguedthatbypickingsuchtheme
helpshimtostatehisrebelagainsttheBugispeoplewayofdecoratingtheirhouses.
Theytendtotastelesslydecoratetheirhousesonlytoimpresspeoplesoothersknow
howwealthytheyare.Iwanttoprotestsuchbehavior,headded.Andasapoet,hedoes
sobypickingasimpleandmodestthemeinhispoetrythateveryonecanconnectto
relativelyeasily,i.e.love.ButIknownotmanypeoplevoluntarilyreadpoemsforits
socialcriticismsoIputmoresocialcriticisminsidethedeeperlayersofmysimple
poems.
Throughhispoems,healsoprovidesenoughspaceforreaderstointerpretandcreate
theirownmeaningsiftheyfeeltheywantto.Helikenedhispoemtoahouse.Ifthey
wanttogossip,Iprovidealivingroom.Ifpeopleinsideitwanttocook,Iprovideaclean
kitchen.Iftheywanttosleep,Iprovidethemaspaciousbedroom.Thatishowthe
youngpoetseeshispoetry.
Despitehisrecentsuccess,Mansyurhasnointentiontobeapoetbyprofessionthathelps
himmakemoremoneyforaliving.Tobeapoet,heiswillingtodootherjobs.Thereis
nomoneyinpoetry,Mansyursoftlyadded.
DubbedasoneofliterarycelebritiesonTwitter,Mansyurhadacoldattitude.Itisjust
anothermediumandthereshouldbenooverglorificationofTwitter.Butheagreedonthe
factthatTwitterreallyhelpshimreachwideraudienceforhispoetry.Andhefeelsthatit
isagoodwaytoreachreaderswhointurnmaypurchasehisbooks.Asapoetry
marketingtool,Twitterprovestobegreatandefficient.Sohefailstounderstandwhy
somepoetsthinkbeingonsocialmediaisdirty,cheapandinappropriate.Poetsare
peopleofparadox.Theygetangrywhenonlyveryfewofpoetrybooksaresoldbutwhen
somepoetrybookssellreallywell,theyclaimthosebooksareofverylowquality.He
oftendealswithaccusationofmakinguseofhisvirtualpopularityasameansof
marketinghisbooks.Theycreditmybestsellingbooksformyhighnumberof
followers.Butwhydoesitseemsowrong?Dontwejustwantourbookstosellwell?
heprotestedwhilesayinghedoesnotseehisfollowersasconsumers.Rather,hesees
themasaudienceandTwitterenablesthepoetandaudienceinteractinrealtime,ina
mucheasierway.Andthisisablessing.
Mansyurhasanintentionwhyhedeliberatelycollaboratesandcooperatewithartists

fromdifferentfields.Herefusestoonlycooperatewithfellowpoetsandchoosestowork
togetherwithmoviemakers.Thiswayhetriestoshowhisbeliefthatpoetryhasa
unifyingpowerandheputspoetryintrialtoproveitcanwithstand,surviveandeven
flourishinatotallydifferentecosystem.Withpoetry,Mansyurcanworktogetherwith
anyoneregardlessoftheirattributes.Andhewantstoconveythismessagetoeveryone.
HealsohasaverygreatconcernintheissueofJavacenteredIndonesianliteratureand
poetry.HehasbeenobservingthetremendousscaleofJavaneseinfluenceonthethe
Indonesianlanguageandliteraturecurriculumtaughtinschoolsthroughoutthecountry,
includingSulawesi.Heagreeshecannotsinglehandedlychangethefactbutherebelsin
hisownwaythroughsocialmediawhereeveryoneandeveryentityisequal.(*)