T

he decreasing number of Javanese literature, including novels, short stories, poems and songs, is signalling its extinction, a workshop concluded Wednesday.

One easily comprehensible indicator, according to writer Bunaru Nabobenar, was the fact that fewer people were subscribing to weekly publications written in Javanese.

"As a result, no subscribers will be left, as one by one the older ones will die while the younger generation exhibits no interest in preserving Javanese literature," he warned.

Bunari blamed the government, as the stakeholder with the most interest in preserving cultural legacy, for the worrying scenario.

"There has been a lack of intensive communication between Javanese writers and the government on how to preserve Javanese literature," he said.

Beni Satya, an author from Jakarta, proposed a breakthrough in making Javanese literature more acceptable among today's society.

"It's no longer time to rely just on written Javanese," he pointed out.

To make the Javanese language more publicly acceptable, he added, literature must be supported by trendy media that society can easily access, such as stage and art performances.

"Indeed, these don't constitute literature, but this is my proposed strategy to make the language gain a greater foothold in society," he told the forum.