Kulon Progo Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) Launches Democracy-Themed Poetry Book, 88 Works Selected
Eighty-eight of the 134 poems submitted have been selected for publication in an anthology of poetry on the theme of elections and democracy published by the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) of Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta Special Region.
According to the announcement made by Bawaslu Kulon Progo, the selected poems are works by poets from various regions in Indonesia, including from Brussels (Belgium) and Malaysia. Other poems came from various cities across Indonesia, including Lhokseumawe (Aceh), Riau, Lampung, Central Java, East Java, Bali, West Papua, Kalimantan, and more.
The Chairman of Bawaslu Kulon Progo, Marwanto M.Si, stated that the committee's initial concept was to select only 50 poems for publication in the book. "However, given the high level of public enthusiasm, the curator believes that this competition, in addition to being a competition, should also be a platform for participation, resulting in 88 poems being published in a book," said Marwanto on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
Quoting political scientist Robert A. Dahl, Marwanto added that of the many elements of democracy, two are competition and participation. Based on Dahl's opinion, this poetry writing competition was chosen as a reference, especially regarding manuscripts to be published as a book.
"For a competition without prizes, we consider the number of submissions, 134, to be high, especially since the themes of elections and democracy are unfamiliar to many people. Indeed, not all submitted manuscripts, when curated, meet, let's say, a passing grade in terms of literary aesthetics," said Marwanto, a writer and one of the curators of the poetry anthology published in commemoration of the 7th anniversary of the Kulon Progo Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
He continued, stating that works that do not meet the passing grade are still accepted and considered as interested parties. "We want to hear their honest voices about the elections and our current democracy."
Another curator, Fajar R. Ayunintyas, explained that his team used five assessment aspects in the curation process.
These five assessment aspects consist of: 1) relevance (the extent to which the poem strongly relates to the theme), 2) style (the use of diction, figures of speech, rhythm, and language structure that enhance the poem's beauty and appeal), 3) originality (the uniqueness of ideas, perspectives, and writing style that reflect the author's distinctive voice), 4) depth of meaning/message (the level of reflection, philosophy, or message conveyed and its impact on the reader), 5) clarity of writing (readability, grammar, and adherence to the language, KBBI (Big Indonesian Dictionary), and EYD (Indonesian Traditional Indonesian Dictionary).
"From my experience reading 134 works, I noticed a diversity of perspectives on elections and democracy. So, even though some of the poems didn't or haven't made it into the curation process, it's that diversity of perspectives that makes them worthy of inclusion and therefore, they were curated," explained Fafa, the nickname of Fajar R. Ayunintyas, a poet and novelist who began working in literature in 2007 with the Lumbung Aksara Community.
After the announcement of the works that passed the curation, the next stage of the competition is the book launch and the announcement of the three best works and three works of hope. However, the 20 nominated works will be announced first.
Ayi Jufridar, a member of the Lhokseumawe City Election Supervisory Agency (Panwaslih), the only Bawaslu member from Aceh whose work was selected, expressed his happiness that two of his works were included in the top 88. As a writer and election organizer since 2003, Ayi admitted that he rarely touches on political themes in poetry, except for prose. "In fact, the themes of politics and democracy are also related to our lives," he said.[]
