FROM EXPLOITATION TO EMPATHY: THE POETICS OF WOUNDED NATURE IN CONTEMPORARY INDONESIAN POETRY
Downloads
This study examines the contemporary ecological paradox: despite growing public awareness of the environmental crisis, destructive practices continue. With a critical-qualitative design and interpretive orientation, this study combines close reading with the latest wave of ecocriticism (ecopoetics, material ecocriticism, posthuman/multispecies) to unravel how poetry constructs ecological moral criticism, fosters empathy, and formulates human-more-than-human relations. The corpus includes: “Kidung Tanah Air” and “Badai Katrina” (Frans Nadjira, Curriculum Vitae, 2007), “Elegi” (D. Zawawi Imron, Cinta Ladang Sajadah, 2003), and “Kisah Harimau Sumatra” (Sitor Situmorang, Rindu Kelana, 1994). The findings reveal three main axes. First, “Kidung Tanah Air” uses irony and satire to expose the tension between values and actions, thereby constructing ecological criticism without didacticism. Second, “Hurricane Katrina” and “Elegy” highlight ecological suffering through images of pollution intertwined with industrialization and modernization, mapping the cause-and-effect relationship between human practices and environmental damage. Third, “Kisah Harimau Sumatra” (The Story of the Sumatran Tiger) positions deforestation as an imaginative-narrative device that marks a crisis of connectedness while opening up horizons for relational and spiritual recovery.
Abror, M., & Sabila, S. A. N. (2025). Ekokritik Greg Garrard pada Puisi D. Zawawi Imron: Analisis Tema dan Simbolisme Alam. Deiktis: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 5(1), 291–298. https://doi.org/10.53769/deiktis.v5i1.1377
Ağın, B. (2022). Material ecocriticism and ecofeminist literature. In The Routledge Handbook of Ecofeminism and Literature (Chap. 34). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003195610-34
Baccar, M., Bergez, J.-E., Couture, S., Sekhar, M., Ruiz, L., & Leenhardt, D. (2021). Building Climate Change Adaptation Scenarios with Stakeholders for Water Management: A Hybrid Approach Adapted to the South Indian Water Crisis. Sustainability, 13(15), 8459. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158459
Becker, A. B., & Anderson, A. A. (2019). Using humor to engage the public on climate change: The effect of exposure to one-sided vs. two-sided satire on message discounting, elaboration and counterarguing. Journal of Science Communication, 18(4), A07. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18040207
Bentz, J. (2020). Learning about climate change in, with and through art. Climatic Change, 162(3), 1595–1612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02804-4
Bernhard, K. P., Shapiro, A., & Hunt, C. A. (2023). Drivers of tropical deforestation: a global review of methodological approaches and analytical scales. Biodiversity and Conservation, 33(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02747-z
Boykoff, M. T. (2019). Creative (Climate) Communications: Productive Pathways for Science, Policy and Society. Cambridge University Press.
Braidotti, R. (2019). A Theoretical Framework for the Critical Posthumanities. Theory, Culture & Society, 36(6), 31–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276418771486
Braidotti, R. (2019). Posthuman Knowledge. Polity/Wiley.
Brock, R.C., et al. (2021). Implementing Brazil’s Forest Code: a vital contribution to securing forests and conserving biodiversity. Biodivers Conserv 30, 1621–1635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02159-x
Celidwen, Y., & Keltner, D. (2023). Kin relationality and ecological belonging: A cultural psychology of Indigenous transcendence. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 994508. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.994508
Chan, K. M. A., Balvanera, P., Benessaiah, K., et al. (2016). Why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(6), 1462–1465. https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.1525002113
Clark, T. (2015). Ecocriticism on the edge: The Anthropocene as a threshold concept. Bloomsbury.
Dewi, N. (2022). Ecological lamentation and advocacy in Eka Budianta’s selected poems. Poetika: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.22146/poetika.v10i1.74114
Diego-Cordero, R., Martínez-Herrera, A., Coheña-Jiménez, M., Lucchetti, G., & Pérez-Jiménez, J. M. (2024). Ecospirituality and Health: A Systematic Review. Journal of Religion and Health, 63(2), 1285-1306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01994-2
Ellen, R. (2016). Nuaulu ritual regulation of resources, sasi and forest conservation in eastern Indonesia. South East Asia Research, 24(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.5367/sear.2016.0290
Farrier, D. (2019). Anthropocene poetics: Deep time, sacrifice zones, and extinction. University of Minnesota Press.
Fawaid, A. (2020). Politik Estetika Sitor Situmorang: Trilogi Mimesis dalam Ibu Pergi ke Surga (1950-1981). Yogyakarta: Cantrik Pustaka.
Feng Ba., et.al. (2023). How human–elephant relations are shaped: A case study of integrative governance and human–wildlife conflict. Journal for Nature Conservation, 75, 126245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103051
Fiedorczuk, J., Newell, M., Quetchenbach, B., & Tierney, O. (Eds.). (2023). The Routledge Companion to Ecopoetics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003187028
Flecke, S.L., et al. (2024). Nature experiences and pro-environmental behavior: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102383
Fredriksen, B.C. & Groth, C. (Eds.). (2023). Expanding Environmental Awareness in Education Through the Arts. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4855-8
Fuss, S., Golub, A., & Lubowski, R. (2021). The economic value of tropical forests in meeting global climate stabilization goals. Global Sustainability, 4, e1. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2020.34
Gross, M. (2023). Breathing wildfire smoke. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.004
Guazzini, A., Valdrighi, G., Fiorenza, M., & Duradoni, M. (2025). The Relationship Between Connectedness to Nature and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 17(8), 3686. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083686
Hallaj, Z., et al., (2024). Forest land use change effects on biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods. Science of the Total Environment, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2024.100445
Izzah, I., Ahmadi, A., & Yohanes, B. (2025). Deskripsi Ecosemantik pada Karya Puisi D. Zamawi Imron. GHANCARAN: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra Indonesia, 563—581. https://doi.org/10.19105/ghancaran.vi.15816
Keller, L. (2018). Recomposing ecopoetics: North American poetry of the self-conscious Anthropocene. University of Virginia Press.
Klöckner, C.A. & Sommer, L.K. (2021). Visual art inspired by climate change—An analysis of audience reactions to 37 artworks presented during the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0247331. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247331
Lidskog, R., Waterton, C., & Vogel, J. (2022). Environmental knowledge controversies: The role of narrative and aesthetics. Environmental Sociology, 8(2), 141-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2021.2004811
Liliani, E. (2022). Embracing comparative ecocriticism through affect: Representations of tropical forest ecologies in Indonesian and Nicaraguan poetry. RILE: Revista Interdisciplinar de Literatura e Ecocrítica, 9, 126–146. https://asle-brasil.com/journal/index.php/aslebr/article/view/197
Liu, N., Liu, Z., & Wu, Y. (2025). Direct and Indirect Impacts of Urbanization on Biodiversity Across the World’s Cities. Remote Sensing, 17(6), 956. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17060956
Liu, Y., et al. (2022). Nature connection, pro-environmental behaviors and wellbeing: Understanding the mediating role of nature contact. Landscape and Urban Planning, 228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104550
Mohapatra, A. (2025). Ecocriticism in Recent Literary Works. International Journal of Social Impact, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.25215/2455/100120
Naji, J. (2021). Digital Poetry. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65962-2
Orrick, K., Dove, M., & Schmitz, O. J. (2023). Human–nature relationships: An introduction to social-ecological practice theory for human–wildlife interactions. Ambio, 53, 201-211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01945-x
Papilo, P., et al. (2022). Palm oil-based bioenergy sustainability and policy in Indonesia and Malaysia: A systematic review. Heliyon, 8(11), e11558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10919
Parham, J. (Ed.). (2021). The Cambridge companion to literature and the Anthropocene. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108683111
Reddick, Y. (2024). Anthropocene Poetry: Place, Environment, and Planet. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39389-1
Ryan, J. C. (2020). “The pained and silent song of a branch”: Ecological precarity in the poetry of Taufiq Ismail and Khairani Barokka. Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 56(4), 488–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449855.2020.1762832
Sahoo, A. (2025). Ecocriticism in poetry and its role in raising eco-consciousness: A review of themes, research gaps and challenges. DECISION – Review and Curation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-025-00430-6
Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2018). The influence of climate fiction: An empirical survey of readers. Environmental Humanities, 10(2), 473–500. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-7156848
Setiawan, K. E. P. (2024). Sitor Situmorang's poems from the perspective of Greg Garrard's ecocriticism as an innovation in teaching materials for literary criticism with ecological literacy content in higher education. Dissertation. Sebelas Maret University.
Shetty, S.S., et al. (2023). Environmental pollutants and their effects on human health, Heliyon, (9)9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19496.
Skiveren, N. (2024). Humor as Hope?: On Critique and Affirmation in Ecological Parody and Satire. Environmental Humanities, 16(2), 441-459. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-11150075
Spörk, A., Martinuzzi, A., Findler, F., & Vogel-Pöschl, H. (2022). When students write comedy scripts: humor as an experiential learning method in environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 29(4), 552–568. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2136626
Stenfors, C. U. D., Osika, W., Mundaca, L., Ruprecht, S., Ramstetter, L., & Wamsler, C. (2025). Nature connectedness and other transformative qualities associated with pro-environmental attitudes, behaviors, and engagement across scales: the direction of compassion matters. Global Sustainability, 8, e15. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2025.15
Tajane, S.S., et al. (2024). Ecocriticism in literature: Examining nature and the environment in literary works. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice (KUEY), 30(6), 2162-2168. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i6.5675
Theodorou, P. (2022). The effects of urbanisation on ecological interactions. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2022.100922
Thomas-Walters, L., & Raihani, N. J. (2017). Supporting conservation: The roles of flagship species and identifiable victims. Conservation Letters, 10(5), 581–587. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12319
Travis, C., Dixon, D. P., Bergmann, L., Legg, R., & Crampsie, A. (Eds.). (2022). Routledge Handbook of the Digital Environmental Humanities. Routledge.
Triadnyani, I. G. A. A. M. (2018). Maritime traces in Frans Nadjira’s poems. Prosiding Konferensi Internasional Kesusastraan XXVII, 354–365.
Undaharta, N. K. E., Martini, F., & Wee, A. K. S. (2025). Comparable biodiversity and demographic structure between sacred groves and protected forests with Dipterocarpus hasseltii reveal conservation value of customary forests in Bali, Indonesia. Biodiversity and Conservation, 34, 3147–3162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02885-y
van Dooren, T., Kirksey, E., & Münster, U. (2016). Multispecies Studies: Cultivating Arts of Attentiveness. Environmental Humanities, 8(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-3527695
Vergouwen, J. C. (2019). The Social Organization and Customary Law of the Toba-Batak of Northern Sumatra (Reprint ed.). Leiden: Brill/KITLV.
Weik von Mossner, A. (2017). Affective ecologies: Empathy, emotion, and environmental narrative. The Ohio State University Press.
Wiebe, R. A., & Wilcove, D. S. (2025). Global biodiversity loss from outsourced deforestation. Nature, 639, 389–394. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08569-5
Wiyatmi, et al. (2022). Deforestation in Indonesian and Malaysian Novels: When Wild Forests are Destroyed by Anthropocentricism. KATA: Journal of Language and Literature, 24(1), 29-39. https://doi.org/10.9744/KATA.24.1.29-39
Zapf, H., & Müller, T. (2022). Ecology in American literature. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.808
Zekavat, M., & Scheel, T. (2023). Satire, Humor, and Environmental Crises (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003055143
Copyright (c) 2025 Mawaidi, Kusmarwanti, Suminto A Sayuti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
