UMM Preserves Culture of Poets Through Poetry Musicalization

Back held for the third time, the appreciation of poetry literature by University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) in commemorating the national poetry day that falls on April 28, was packaged nicely in musical performances of poetry.

 

As one of the efforts to popularize poetry, this activity is specifically aimed at high school students to preserve poetry as a cultural product. As a series of events titled Night of Thousand Poetry, it was also conducted a competition for writing and musicalization of poetry among SMA/SMK followed by almost all schools in Malang Raya.

 

In the opening ceremony, the Rector of UMM Fauzan expressed the highest appreciation for the implementation of this activity. He also advised the entire UMM academic community to continue to work in any field. It is a form of distribution of student creativity.

 

"The creativity you carve will not stop in this evening," explained the man who is also a lecturer of Bahasa Indonesia UMM.

 

In addition, UMM specifically invited AriReda who are a vocal duo, Ari Malibu and Reda Gaudiamo, a famous for the albums of musical works of their poems.

 

The musicalization of poetry was chosen as a means of educating the community through a mixture of music and poetry as well as a new form of enjoying poetry. As the Chairman of Department of Language and Literature of Indonesia (PBSI) UMM, Sugiarti, admitted that this agenda is implemented as a way for academics to carry the mission of preserving the culture.

 

"This activity is implemented as our effort (PBSI) to preserve the culture of poetry," he explained.

 

In this row, AriReda presented ten songs, one of them is the musicalization of poetry from On One Day Later which is a poet by Sapardi Djoko Damono.

 

For Reda, poetic musicals are their way of preserving literature in the midst of modern life. She and her duet partner Ari also hoped Indonesians youth continue to love literature in the simplest way of reading it.

 

"Ari and I are very happy if we could see that youth read literature, especially create it," explained this bespectacled woman.

 

The event, which began at 19.00, drew the audience with the collection of poetry which had been radicalized by AriReda. Even one of the visitors came from Surabaya, Yanti Dewi Permata, admitted intentionally return to her white campus to witness and simultaneously greet her pride to UMM because it was held the agenda of literature appreciation consistently.

 

"I am alumni here. I know that AriReda comes, I immediately buy a ticket to Malang. UMM always makes proud," explained the PBSI alumni.