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Rancage Literary Awards go to local short story writers
Short story writers have won all of the 2010 Rancage Literary Awards, which recognise outstanding literature written in local languages
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hort story writers have won all of the 2010 Rancage Literary Awards, which recognise outstanding literature written in local languages.
The awards will be presented in Yogyakarta in May this year.
The Rancage Cultural Foundation has selected this year’s award winners, given annually to Sundanese, Javanese, Balinese and Lampung literary figures for their creative excellence and dedication to preserving local literary traditions.
Lampung writer Asarpin Aslami, a former Urban Poor Consortium activist, won the award for his collection of short stories Cerita-Cerita Jak Bandar Negeri Semuong (Stories from Bandar Negeri Semuong), while Sundanese writer Usep Romli H.M was recognized for his compilation of short stories Sanggeus Umur Tunggang Gunung (After getting older).
The winner of the Javanese literary works category went to Sumono Sandi Asmoro for his compilation of stories Layang Panantang (Letter of challenge), while I Wayan Sandha won the award for his work Leak Pemoroan.
Ajip Rosidi, who founded Rancage, said the awards were first handed out in 1989 and were initially only for Sundanese literary works. Since 1994, he said, the awards had also recognized Javanese literary works. The awards have continued to evolve, with Balinese and Lampung writers recognized in 1997 and 2008.
The award to Asarpin was the second to a Lampung writer. In 2008, the award went to Lampung’s Udo Z. Karzi for his book of poems.
“Asarpin’s short story compilation is the first modern story written in the Lampung language and it contains both traditional and modern values,” Ajip Rosidi said on Tuesday.
He hoped the awards would encourage the development of local literary works in the region.
“It may not be big business, but the publication of Sundanese, Javanese and Balinese literary works continues with new books being published or reprinted.
“Many Sundanese literary works that are being reprinted are those published before the war, which shows that readers are elderly people who want to read the books they have read before,” Ajip said.
Asarpin said the recognition of Lampung literary works by Rancage was a slap in the face for the Lampung administration, which paid no attention to local literature.
“Rancage can motivate Lampung writers to keep on producing work. Lampung literature will die out if they’re not being published or getting support from the community,” he said.
The director of the Jung Foundation on Lampung heritage, Christian Heru Cahyo, said the provincial administration had yet to play a role in developing Lampung literature and culture or help writers get their work written published.
“The Lampung provincial administration is too busy with the ‘Visit Lampung Year program’,” he said.
“There has been no real effort to preserve Lampung literature and culture. Moreover, no magazine or newspaper runs Lampung works.”
