Trauma 4DX
no stalker got you under his skin
trauma acquired from cinema conglomerates
for our bodies to be more responsive
to all the vibrations and sounds from the screen
in your mind the 4DX movie theater opens its doors wide
VVIP just for you
without any other visitor and admission is free
the darkened projection hissed along to the air conditioner:
“Sisss … Sssy …”
Dolby Surround 7.1
Full 360° Around
All Around You
compelled to watch a film that churned your insides
until they overflowed into a bag of caramel popcorn
there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
no cleaners outside the studio
part of you remains in the puddle of vomit on the carpet
the kitchen and café and game center and lobby lights
continue to scintillate
like a parasite
slinking around
to steal dreams from your sleep
and bring home an Oscar.
Trauma 4DX
stalker tidak got you under his skin
trauma berguru pada konglomerasi bioskop
agar tubuh-tubuh makin lekas tanggap
pada segala gegetaran dan bebunyian dari dalam layar
di dalam kepalamu ruang bioskop 4DX membuka pintunya lebar-lebar
VVIP hanya untuk dirimu
anpa pengunjung lain dan tanpa perlu tiket masuk
bersama layar hitam, mesin AC ikut-ikutan mendengus:
“Bencong … Bencong ….”
Dolby Surround 7.1
Full 360 ° Around
All Around You
kau dipaksa untuk menonton film yang mengocok isi perutmu
hingga tumpah ruah dalam kantung popcorn rasa caramel
there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
di luar studio tak ada tukang bersih-bersih
sebagian dirimu tertinggal dalam tetes muntahan di atas karpet
kitchen dan café dan game centre dan lampu-lampu lobi
tak berhenti berkelap-kerlip
seperti parasit
yang mengendap-endap
mencuri mimpi dari tidurmu
agar bisa memboyong pulang Piala Oscar.
Translator’s statement:
The original poems in this document are by Hendri Yulius Wijaya, written in Bahasa Indonesia, mixed with a spattering of English words and expressions. They are published in the full-length collection, Stonewall Tak Mampir di Atlantis [There’s No Stonewall in Atlantis] by Indonesian publisher Buku Mojok Grup in 2020 (ISBN # 978-623-91089-9-1).
Hendri Yulius Wijaya, the poet of the original work, is one of the rare handful of out queer writers writing/publishing in Bahasa Indonesia and from/in Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world. The translator of this work is a fellow out queer Indonesian who is also of Chinese heritage, an ethnic minority community in Indonesia that has faced discrimination and persecution
In keeping with the author’s intentions of highlighting the plurality of languages found in the original text, the translator has approached the translation in the following ways:
- Italicized text denotes English words that appear in original poems.
- Commonwealth English words and expressions in original poems have been adapted into North American context and spelling.
- The original poem in Bahasa Indonesia is included for reference at the end of the translated piece.
The author has granted the translator permission to translate the work into the English language, and the book publisher has granted the translator reprint rights of the original poems to be published in literary journals, alongside the translated work.
Hendri Yulius Wijaya [ poet ] is an Indonesian writer and researcher on gender, sexuality, cultural politics, and sustainability. He has written extensively and provided commentaries on Indonesian anti-LGBTQ+ panics and queer movements for various national and international media outlets. His academic research focuses on the development of Indonesian queer activism from the 1980s to the present, anti-LGBTQ+ panics, pornography, and sustainability, among other topics. He is also the co-editor of Queer Southeast Asia (Routledge, 2022). For his long-term engagement with LGBTQ+ rights and sustainability issues, he was invited to deliver the 2023 Tomlinson Memorial Lecture at Nottingham University in the UK. Stonewall Tak Mampir Di Atlantis is his debut full-length poetry collection.
Edward Gunawan [ translator ] is a Bay Area-based writer, translator & curator who authored chapbooks: Start a Riot! Prize-winning The Way Back (Foglifter Press, 2022) and Press Play (Sweet Lit, 2020). Their poems/cine-poems, short stories, essays/video-essays, and translations have been published in TriQuarterly, Aquifer, The Town anthology (Nomadic Press, 2023), and elsewhere. An Indonesian-born Chinese queer immigrant, Edward founded and organizes HOME MADE @ ARTogether that hosts free literary arts gatherings in Oakland, CA. Visit addword.com for more.
