Hendri Yulius Wijaya
& Edward Gunawan (translator)
Two Poems
BRIEF TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
Due to an alarming and unprecedented escalation of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, queer Indonesians have faced persecutions and (threats of) violence from both the government and general public in recent years. As one of the rare openly-out writers writing and publishing in Bahasa Indonesia and from Indonesia, Hendri Yulius Wijaya has spoken out extensively through articles and commentaries on Indonesian queer movements and anti-LGBTQ+ panics for various national and international media outlets.
The translator has approached the translation process in the following ways:
In addition to names of people/places/products/brands, the translator has preserved some Indonesian terms and expressions that carry culturally-specific meanings and subtexts. An index of these terms is compiled as footnotes.
Commonwealth English words and expressions in the original poems have been adapted to North American context and spellings.
Gay Proverb
it has been said that the world is wider than a moringa leaf. I
have never seen the Louvre. other than through
Google Images. The United Nations Headquarters in Geneva and
all of the embassy offices in Kuningan sent invitations to a gala dinner.
tuxedo jacket, bow tie, and cufflinks. privilege amnesia crashing down at ITC Mangga Dua.
off to the corner warung for a sachet of Axe Dark Temptation pocket perfume 250x sprays.
before turning in the fully paid invoice for the order of rainbow flags at
Juliana Jaya Vermak Lives. because Lives on IG Live are to be consistently permark-ed.
for Likes and Followers. Future employers roam Twitter.
morality and personality must fit within 280 characters. rainbow flags transmuted
into flying carpets on the worldwide LGBT Rights promo tour.
that genie in the bottle really needs to retire. especially after failing to save
Christina Aguilera’s marriage.
—Notes—
“The world is wider than a moringa leaf” is the translation of a common Indonesian proverb “dunia tak selebar daun kelor” that suggests a belief in hope or second chances, for the world is in fact bigger than the leaves of these plants.
Kuningan: A district in South Jakarta where many of the embassies, ambassador residences, and high-rise five-star hotels are located in Indonesia.
ITC Mangga Dua: A shopping mall in North Jakarta, known to be a haven for budget shopping with its multi-level wholesalers and retailers selling low- to mid-price point clothes.
Warung: A make-shift neighborhood convenience stall, typically on wooden carts.
Axe Dark Temptation: A local brand of deodorant body spray.
Juliana Jaya Vermak Lives: The name of a clothing altering small business. The unintentional mis-spelling of “permak” to “vermak” and “Levi’s” to “Lives” seem to suggest the working-class background of its owner (in terms of socio-economic as well as education level).
“Permak” or “vermak”: Literally translates to “alter.”
Gay Daun Kelor
konon dunia tak selebar daun kelor. aku
belum pernah melihat Louvre. kecuali dari
Google Images. United Nations Headquarters di Jenewa dan
kantor-kantor kedutaan di Kuningan mengirim undangan gala dinner.
tuxedo jacket, bow tie, dan cufflinks. amnesia prilivege dan ngemper di ITC Mangga Dua.
ke warung beli satu sachet Axe Dark Tempation parfum saku 250x semprot.
sebelum menukar kuitansi tanda lunas dengan pesanan bendera rainbow di
Juliana Jaya Vermak Lives. karena Lives dalam IG Live harus konsisten dipermak.
untuk Likes dan Followers. Future employers berkeliaran di Twitter.
morality and personality dibikin fit dalam 280 karakter. bendera rainbow jadi
permadani terbang untuk promo tour LGBT Rights worldwide.
Jin dalam botol wajib dipensiunkan. Apalagi setelah gagal menyelamatkan
pernikahan Christina Aguilera.
Fatigue
There's nothing special about masturbating in the sink
or requesting for a spanking to rekindle a lukewarm
relationship. Caution, too much of
Freud and Foucault can turn you frigid
and impotent. Jerking off while bored at home
for too long must be taken as resistance to the regime of heteronormative family planning.
Experimenting with vibrators renders one victim of global capitalism. Bedding white foreigners
betray the struggle of third world countries against neocolonialism. Willingness to be loved for
just one night indicates complicity in patriarchal culture. Choosing to be a lesbian is feminism
run amok. Fondness for breasts is a sure sign of Oedipal Complex. Handcuffed to bed posts
while making love is clear evidence of the toxic byproduct of Fifty Shades of Gray, which is
really about condoning women's oppression. Infatuation with K-pop boy bands and girl bands is
tantamount to supporting the inhuman beauty-industrial-complex. While renting oneself out to
pay off tuition loans is revered as bodily autonomy. But since when does being gay automatically
translate into the political rejection of binary gender boxes?
When I’m much too tired, all I really want is simply this: a serious boyfriend, is that too much to
ask for?
Fatigue
Tak ada yang spesial dengan bermasturbasi di wastafel
atau minta di-spank agar hubungan suam-suam kuku
kembali mendidih. Berhati-hatilah, sebab kebanyakan
baca Freud dan Foucault bisa bikin frigid
dan impoten. Onani saat bosan kelamaan
di rumah harus dibaca sebagai perlawanan terhadap rezim reproduksi heteronormatif Keluarga
Berencana. Iseng-iseng main vibrator dituduh korban kapitalisme global. Nyobain bule dianggap
pengkhianatan terhadap perjuangan negara dunia ketiga melawan neokolonialisme. Sudi dicintai
hanya selama satu malam dilabel sebagai korban budaya patriarki. Memilih menjadi lesbian
dibilang sebagai feminis kebablasan. Gemar mengecap payudara dicurigai akibat tak bisa
move-on dari tetek ibu waktu orok. Minta diborgol di jeruji ranjang saat bercinta diduga
keracunan Fifty Shades of Grey yang mengamini penindasan perempuan. Tergila-gila pada
boyband dan girlband K-pop didakwa telah ikut mendukung kaum pemodal industri kecantikan.
Jual diri untuk bayar tunggakan SPP dipuja sebagai kemerdekaan tubuh. Sejak kapan pula
menjadi gay otomatis berarti perlawanan politis untuk menghancurkan kotak-kotak gender biner?
Ketika sudah terlampau lelah, pintaku hanya satu, begitu sederhana: aku cuma kepingin punya
pacar serius.
A writer, scholar, and researcher, Hendri Yulius Wijaya is the author of Intimate Assemblages: The Politics of Queer Identities and Sexualities in Indonesia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and the co-editor of Queer Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2022). He has also authored and co-edited a number of books that range from academic essays to creative non-fiction and short story collections. For his long-term engagement with LGBTQ+ rights and sustainability issues, he was invited to deliver the 2023 Tomlinson Memorial Lecture at the Nottingham University in the UK. Stonewall Tak Mampir di Atlantis is his debut full-length poetry collection.
Edward Gunawan (Translator) is a Bay Area-based writer and translator who authored 2 chapbooks, most recently the Start a Riot! Prize-winning The Way Back (Foglifter Press, 2022). An Indonesian-born Chinese queer immigrant, Edward was recently awarded the Gabo Prize in Literary Translation and Multilingual Texts by the journal Lunch Ticket. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University where they received a Distinguished Graduate Achievement Award. Their translation work has appeared in Asymptote, MAYDAY, and West Branch. Other publications include TriQuarterly, Aquifer, and The Town anthology (Nomadic Press, 2023). Visit addword.com for more.