Diplomacy through poetry | Khairani Barokka

Gulf Between Australia and Indonesia a Lot Narrower When We Take a Stanza

“Late last year at a Canberra cafe I led an improvised poetry workshop. In the spirit of creative writing, I asked five Indonesians to each shout out a word they associated with Australia. Out came “barren,” “desert,” “barbecue,” “kangaroo” and “Corby.” In contrast, the five words Australians chose to depict Indonesia were: “spicy,” “steamy,” “islands,” “intricate” and “batik.”

Keep in mind this was not your everyday Australian setting. It was a gathering organized by Australian National University’s School of Music Poets and Australian Poetry, titled “Meet Your Neighbors,” where academics and writers discussed all things poetic beneath sarongs that hung across the Biginelli Espresso Cafe.

Doesn’t it make you wonder what words others would use to describe the country across the water, if you asked a random assortment of warung-goers in Semarang or pub-goers in Sydney?”

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