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Ari Wibowo, Universitas Gadjah Mada, IndonesiaAbstract
Sutardji Calzoum Bachri's poetry, considered groundbreaking in 1970s Indonesia, emerged from a complex interplay of social repression and discursive dynamics. This study explores how Sutardji’s unique mantra-Sufi poetics functioned as a strategic response to the authoritarian control of language during the New Order era. Employing a qualitative approach grounded in Terry Eagleton’s materialist criticism, this research analyzes the segregation and desegregation of mantra and Sufi discourses within Indonesian poetry. The findings reveal a dual strategy: first, Sutardji’s mantra form, with its emphasis on phonetic sensation over semantic meaning, allowed him to subvert the state-imposed monopoly on language and evade censorship. Second, by aligning his work with the popular and politically safe Sufi literary trend, he skillfully navigated the constraints of the literary production system. This study concludes that Sutardji’s linguistic innovation was not merely an aesthetic choice but a sophisticated act of discursive resistance, reclaiming the essence of language from institutional control.
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Conference: ACAH2025Stream: Literature/Literary Studies
This paper is part of the ACAH2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Wibowo A. (2025) The Social and Discursive Context of Sutardji Calzoum Bachri’s Mantra/Sufi Poetry ISSN: 2186-229X – The Asian Conference on Arts & Humanities 2025 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 41-51) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2025.4
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-229X.2025.4
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