National Symposium Dedicated to Commemorate the Work of Budi Darma

Tribute through the National Symposium Towards Literary Theory “Dunia Jungkir Balik Budi Darma” to commemorate the work of the writer Budi Darma who died at the age of 84 years.

Budi Darma, an Indonesian writer, and professor of the Faculty of Language and Arts at the State University of Surabaya passed away on Saturday (21/8/2021) at the Surabaya Islamic Hospital. The news made the writers feel lost, besides that many media also expressed their deep condolences. Budi Darma is a literary figure who is already familiar with the world of Indonesian literature. Many of his well-known writings include the novel Olenka (1983), the essay Solilokui (1983), and the short story Orang – Orang Bloomington (1980). His name became known since the novel Olenka (1983) received an award from the Jakarta Arts Council as the best novel that year.

Sumber: Humas UNESA

To commemorate his works, the Faculty of Language and Arts of UNESA also held a National Symposium that brought together great people to find out what Budi Darma was like in their eyes. This symposium started online on Tuesday (14/9/2021) via zoom which was attended by more than 1,000 participants from various Indonesia. 

Starting at 07.00 until finished which is divided into four sessions. 16 people were invited as speakers to fill the Symposium. In the first session, speakers were Faruk HT, Seno Gumira Ajidarma, Okky Madasari, and Suyatno. The second session was with speakers Akmal Nasery B, M. Shoim Anwar, Triyanto Triwikromo, and Tengsoe Tjahjono. After the break, it was followed by the third session with speakers Wahyudi S, Nurinwa Ki S. H, Eka Budianta, and Much. Khoiri. Finally, the speakers for this session were Tommy F. Awuy, Hafiz R, I Wayan Kun A, Djuli Djatimprabudi.

Annisa Febriana, an English Literature student at the State University of Surabaya, one of the participants who took part in the National Symposium revealed how her experience was when listening to the speakers that explain the character of Budi Darma. 

According to her, Prof. Dr. H. Budi Darma, MA is a writer who has many works in the form of novels, poetry, short stories, and others. “His works are numerous and well-known both locally and internationally, Professor Budi Darma is one of the role models for Indonesian writers,” she said. 

The holding of a national symposium made the participants know more about Budi Darma through people who had the opportunity to know him. Although the participants have not had time to get to know Budi Darma or the speakers, the entire symposium went very well, making the audience immersed in and feel Budi Darma closely from the stories of the writers.

For Annisa herself, the most interesting speaker was Mr. Wahyudi Siswanto in the third session. Mr. Wahyudi Siswanto repeatedly mentioned that Professor Budi Darma was a great literary figure. His works have characteristics that make them unique and different. Mr. Wahyudi Siswanto said that other people wrote from the beginning, then rolled to the middle, and stopped at the end. 

But Budi Darma got involved in the problem first, and that’s where he started. From this, we can conclude that Professor Budi Darma is an eccentric figure and has his motives. Even according to Mr. Wahyudi’s narrative, Professor Budi Darma has several themes that dominate his works such as the themes of the power of destiny, death, disappointment, loneliness, cruelty, and love.

Curiosity made many participants who took part in the symposium want to know more about Professor Budi Darma in the world of Indonesian literature. Several informants also said that in memory of Professor Budi Darma, we still have to study his works so that his works still exist and are not lost so that future generations are also interested in reading his works. 

Many lessons can be learned from this National Symposium. One of them is getting to know Professor Budi Darma more deeply, which turns out to be a lot of interesting information about what he is like. Participants will also get to know more about his previous works and what themes dominate his work.

Through the National Symposium Towards Literary Theory “Dunia Jungkir Balik Budi Darma”, which started from morning to evening, made us understand how honorable Budi Darma was in the eyes of the writers. Presented by many great speakers, Budi Darma is a figure who conveys a message in his work because all literary works must have a moral message. 

Budi Darma’s writing was very free, he believed that ‘Literature is true liberation’. In addition, he greatly contributed to his writing style. His whole style and conversation are just amazing. Finally, the words of the speakers were very imprinted on how Budi Darma thought about his literary works. Goodbye Prof. Dr. H. Budi Darma, MA, may you rest in peace and your work will always be remembered.