JAKARTA-JAYANEWS.COM – Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon is scheduled to serve as the keynote speaker at the launch of the poetry anthology *Merdeka Katamu* (Independence, You Say?), a collection featuring 81 poets reflecting on Indonesia. The event will also include a poetry reading parade featuring Taufiq Ismail, Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, Jose Rizal Manua, and many others.
This literary event—part of the series of celebrations marking Indonesia’s 81st Independence Anniversary—is organized and executed by TISI. It will take place at the HB Jassin Literary Documentation Center (PDS) Hall, located on the 4th floor of the Ali Sadikin “Gedung Panjang” (Long Building) at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Jakarta Arts Center, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, from 13:30 to 17:30 WIB.
“We invite artists and cultural figures in Jakarta to attend the launch of the poetry anthology *Merdeka Katamu*, which will be followed by a discussion session featuring book and cash prizes,” said Octavianus Masekha, Chairman of Taman Inspirasi Sastra Indonesia (TISI), speaking to reporters in Jakarta on Friday morning (August 28, 2026).
“This national-scale literary event also serves to demonstrate our support—as artists and cultural figures—for Taufiq Ismail’s candidacy for the Nobel Prize in Literature,” said Bung Octa—as he is familiarly known—who is himself a poet and man of letters.
In addition to keynote speaker Fadli Zon (Indonesian Minister of Culture), the literary discussion will feature speakers Octavianus Masekha; Nasruddin Djoko Surjono (Head of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Library and Archives Agency, who will also deliver opening remarks); Dr. Sastri Sunarti (Head of the Research Center for Manuscripts, Literature, and Oral Traditions at BRIN); and Esha Tegar Putra, with Ewith Bahar serving as the moderator. The poetry reading parade will also feature performances by Nissa Renganis, Helvy Tiana Rosa, Fatin Hamama, Boyke Sulaiman, Imam Ma’arif, Nana, Rissa Churia, and Swary Utami Dewi.
The poetry anthology *Merdeka Katamu* (“You Call It Freedom”)—featuring works by 81 poets reflecting on Indonesia—includes contributions from Taufiq Ismail, Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, LK Ara, Jose Rizal Manua, and others, with a foreword by Prof. (Hon.) Dr. Fadli Zon, the Indonesian Minister of Culture. (***)
Contributor: Lasman Simanjuntak
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