An Evening of Poetry and Music

The German Ambassador, H.E. Baron Paul von Maltzahn, hosted an „Evening of Poetry and Music“ this past Wednesday at his residence in Kebayoran Baru. The reason for this festivity was the visit of Martin Jankowski, a German poet, and his Indonesian ‘partner in crime’ (i.e. co-poet), Agus R. Sarjono. Jankowski, who grew up in Gotha, a small provincial town in Thuringia, is currently touring Indonesia.

In October, Mr Jankowski participated in the Ubud Writers’ Festival and has recently embarked on a reading tour through Java and Sulawesi. This tour has taken him to Jakarta on several occasions – inter alia – for the International Literature Festival on 11^th and 12^th December.

His main works include the novel “Rabet” and the “Indonesische Sekundenbuch / Detik detik Indonesia” (Indonesian Moments) which was released in a bilingual version with an Indonesian translation in 2006.

Jankowski and Sarjono, together and solo, performed some of their own songs and poems.

With their words and melodies they left the audience enchanted. Also in the audience was the  Ambassador Designate of the Republic of Indonesia to Germany, Mr Eddy Pratomo. The artists also presented the project of a “Jakarta – Berlin Cultural Festival” which is to take place in Berlin in 2009.