Sutardji Calzoum Bachri

Who is Sutardji Calzoum Bachri?

Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, known as Tardji, is a well-known Indonesian poet. A native Malay speaker, he successfully launched a credo of 'freeing words of their meanings'.

He was nicknamed the "bottle poet" for a preference, early in his career, for accompanying readings of his work with bottles of alcohol. He was also known once as 'The President of Indonesian Poets' His style of reading has been compared to the incantation-like quality of the old Indonesian dukun, chants stemming from Indonesian pre-Islamic shaministic practice, still used today.

The style of Tardji's poetry has been described as that of a mantra. He has been quoted as saying that the mantra is the true use of words.