Sapardi Djoko Damono's 83rd Birthday

Today’s Doodle celebrates the birthday of Sapardi Djoko Damono, the poet who revolutionized lyrical poetry in Indonesia. 

Damono was born on this day in Solo, Central Java in 1940. He spent his childhood in libraries reading every book he could get his hands on and started writing poetry while attending high school in Surakarta. After earning an English degree from Gajah Mada University, Damono studied Indonesian literature in graduate school. While working as a radio broadcaster and theater assistant during this time, he started taking his poetry more seriously.

In 1969, Damono released his first poetry collection, dukaMu abadi (Your Sorrow is Eternal). At a time when most Indonesian poets focused on societal reflection and ideas, Damano’s groundbreaking debut reflected on the human condition. Due to the book’s success, Damano was hired as a literature professor at the University of Indonesia.

Damono wrote three more collections of poetry in his straightforward and introspective style before he received the ASEAN-sponsored Southeast Asian Write Award for poetry in 1986. Intent on promoting the artform across the country, he founded the Indonesian Literary Scholars Association and served as chairman for three consecutive terms. Damono also translated literary works from around the world into Indonesian, with one of his most celebrated translations being of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.

In 1994, Damono published Hujan Bulan Juni (A June Rain), a collection of some of his greatest poems. This work inspired several musicians to create compositions with similar themes. The University of Indonesia elected Damono as the dean of faculty and held a poetry recital in 2010 to celebrate his life's work.

Later in his career, Damono earned prestigious honors including the Achmad Bakrie Award for Literature in 2003 and the Akademi Jakarta Award in 2012. Today, his poetry is still read throughout the world, serving as an ode to the next generation of writers.