Ni Made Purnama Sari: three poems, translated from Indonesian by Norman Erikson Pasaribu
About this episode
This episode features a discussion on three poems by Ni Made Purnama Sari, translated by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, exploring themes of cultural identity and colonial impact in Indonesia.
Read the these poems on the Modern Poetry in Translation website: modernpoetryintranslation.com/poem/three-poems-5/ Norman Erikson Pasaribu writes in the translator's note: The translation source of these poems was published in Ni Made Purnama Sari’s collection, Kawitan (2016). The title is a polysemant; it can mean (1) the ancestors, (2) the beginning, (3) the ceremony to celebrate the ancestors, (4) the chronology of how our ancestors became our ancestors. Ni Made Purnama Sari navigates the vast space that confines and connects these definitions. Transporting Purnama Sari’s poetic game can be a challenge. Often she freely breaks from the rules of meaning, by erasing subjects, or switching to older Indonesian literary forms or expressions. For example, the poem ‘A Farewell from Paslaan, Apeldoorn’—which is about the great Toba Batak poet Sitor Situmorang—instantly shifts into the pantoum form in its fourth stanza. Bali is one of the most culturally exploited areas in Indonesia. It’s a global tourist destination, historically designed by the colonial Dutch regime. This has led to extreme settler problems. The native Balinese have lost their well-being to the dramatic rise of…
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