Deknong Kemalawati | |
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![]() Kemalawati in 2017 | |
Born | Deknong Kemalawati 2 April 1965 Meulaboh, Aceh, Indonesia |
Pen name | D Kemalawati |
Occupation | Poet |
Language | Indonesian |
Alma mater | Syiah Kuala University |
Genre | Poetry |
Years active | (2000–present) |
Notable awards | Literary Prize of the Government of Aceh (2007); The Banda Aceh Award for Contribution to the Development of Culture (2018) |
Deknong Kemalawati (born 2 April 1965) is an Indonesian poet. She is one of the leading poets of modern Indonesia, chairman of the Art Council Banda Aceh, and winner of the Literary Prize of the Government of Aceh.
Deknong Kemalawati was born on 2 April 1965, in Meulaboh, Aceh. She graduated from the Pedagogical Faculty of Syiah Kuala University, and worked as a mathematics teacher in high school. She is one of the founders of the Institute of Culture and Society (Lapena) (1998), and Chairman of the Art Council of Banda Aceh. [1] She used to take part in the poetry workshops organized by Dimas Arika Mihardja.
Kemalawati writes poetry from the school bench. The first publications were published in newspapers and magazines during the student's period. The first author's collection "Letter from a no-man country" was published in 2006. The novel Seoulusah about the events of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was published in 2007 and received good reviews from critics. [2] To date, on the poet's account are more than ten collections of poems, including some in collaboration with other poets.
In addition to literary activity, he takes part in theatrical productions and performances of national dances. In November 2012, she successfully participated in the Days of Indonesian Poetry (Pekan Baru). [3] In October 27–28, 2017, she visited Kazan as part of the Aceh cultural group, where she recited her poems and represented the national dances. [4] Many times she represented Indonesia in international forums: in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur on the World Poetry Readings of the Great Malay Nusantara organization (Numera) and the meeting of Nusantara poets, [5] and in 2018 in Sabah during the discussion of the Indonesian and Malaysian poets on the role of poetry in the development of bilateral relations. [6]
... The sincere voice of D. Kemalavati, coming from the bottom of her heart, is heard in the sounds of rebana as the unfading syair Teungku Sik Pante Kullu from Hikayat about the holy war. In the poems of D. Kemalavati we see the beautiful face of her homeland, the long-suffering Aceh ... Metaphors, diction, imbued with symbolism, leave in our souls the trace that makes us love the beauty ... Her poems are an integral part of Nusantara poetry and the whole world. - Ahmad Kamal Abdullah , Malaysian National Laureate, S.E.A. Write Award Laureate [9]
Kemalawait married lawyer Helmy Hass in 1992. She has two sons and a daughter.