Padjadjaran University, Bandung
The seminar at Universitas Padjadjaran Bandung remains one of the most intellectually charged and personally meaningful discussions surrounding my translation of Les Fleurs du Mal, published in Indonesian as Bunga-Bunga Iblis. Unlike several other events I attended virtually, this time I was physically present. That presence mattered. It allowed the exchange to unfold with immediacy, nuance, and the subtle electricity that only a live academic audience can generate.
The event was a collaborative effort between Universitas Padjadjaran, Institut Français Indonesia Bandung, and Pustaka Jaya as the publisher. The institutional synergy itself signaled the seriousness of the occasion. French literature, Indonesian readership, academic scholarship, and publishing practice converged in one room to examine not only a book, but the act of translation as cultural negotiation.
I shared the panel with Sri Rijati Wardiani, a respected translation scholar from the Faculty of French Literature at UNPAD. Her analytical sharpness enriched the discussion, as she approached the text from a theoretical and pedagogical standpoint. The session was moderated by Witakania Sundasari Som, also a lecturer at UNPAD, whose questions were structured, probing, and intellectually generous. The moderation did not simply guide the flow; it elevated the conversation into a layered dialogue.
My presentation centered on the technical and philosophical challenges of translating Charles Baudelaire. Les Fleurs du Mal is not merely a collection of poems. It is an architectural structure of sound, symbolism, and formal discipline. Baudelaire’s sonnets demand attention to meter, rhyme, internal rhythm, and semantic density. Indonesian, with its different phonetic system and poetic tradition, does not naturally mirror nineteenth century French versification. Therefore, the translator must decide what to prioritize and how to recreate aesthetic intensity without forcing artificial form.
We discussed specific dilemmas: how to handle Baudelaire’s decadent imagery, how to render theological and philosophical references into a different cultural horizon, and how to maintain tonal tension without slipping into melodrama. I emphasized that translating poetry is not about reproducing identical form, but about reconstructing poetic energy. The translator must hear the pulse of the original text and then rebuild it within the musical possibilities of the target language.
Sri Rijati Wardiani expanded the discussion by examining the translation through the lens of equivalence theory and reader reception. Her insights allowed the audience to see the work not only as a creative product but as a case study in translation studies. The dialogue between practitioner and academic proved dynamic rather than oppositional. Practice and theory complemented each other.
The audience was attentive and critically engaged. Students and lecturers asked rigorous questions about fidelity, ethics, and the translator’s visibility. Some were particularly interested in how far a translator can intervene before crossing into adaptation. The discussion demonstrated that translating Baudelaire into Indonesian is not simply a literary act, but a cultural and intellectual negotiation.
The collaboration with Institut Français Indonesia Bandung added another layer of significance. The event symbolized a bridge between France and Indonesia, between historical French modernity and contemporary Indonesian readership. By the end of the seminar, it was clear that Bunga-Bunga Iblis had moved beyond publication into active discourse. The book was no longer only mine. It had entered the shared space of debate, interpretation, and academic reflection.
