One afternoon in Blitar several years ago, Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz sat quietly in the corner of a small discussion forum. The participants were few. There were modest cups of coffee, books with worn-out covers, and long conversations about literature, politics, and everyday life.
There was no payment. No major sponsors. No media spotlight.
Yet it was precisely in spaces like these that he felt literacy was truly alive.
“People who stay in the world of literacy usually do not do it for money,” he once said during a community discussion. “They stay because there is something they genuinely believe in.”
Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz is known among several literacy communities in Blitar. For more than a decade, he has actively organized writing forums, book discussions, and intellectual study communities. He is not the type of activist who enjoys standing on grand stages. Instead, he is more often seen sitting among participants, casually discussing books or reviewing community members’ writings late into the night.
His journey in literacy activism began during the era of Forum Lingkar Pena, when enthusiasm for writing among young Indonesians was rapidly growing. From that experience, he came to understand that reading alone was not enough. For him, writing is the next stage in the process of understanding life.
1. Managing Writing Communities Is More Meaningful Than Simply Opening Reading Spaces
Throughout his years in literacy activism, Fahrizal developed a rather distinctive perspective. He admits that he enjoys managing writing communities more than establishing public reading corners or small reading stalls.
Not because he undervalues reading spaces. On the contrary, he sees reading as the essential foundation. However, he believes writing communities possess a broader dimension.
“If people learn to write, they will almost certainly read,” he said.
From this simple logic, he concluded that writing activities naturally encourage books to be read. But the process does not stop there. After reading, people reflect, connect ideas with real-life experiences, and eventually transform them into new works.
That, for him, is where literacy completes its cycle.
According to Fahrizal, reading is the process of consuming ideas, while writing is the process of producing new ones. This is why he believes writing communities generate a longer-lasting intellectual energy.
This perspective strongly influenced the communities he managed. In many forums, participants were encouraged not only to read books but also to write reflections, essays, poems, and personal narratives.
He believes writing is a trace of human thought.
And over the years, he has witnessed how people transform after regularly writing. Some who were once quiet became more confident in expressing themselves. Others who were easily angered became more reflective. Some even discovered their life path through writing.
2. Literacy Is a Means of Survival
For Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz, literacy is not merely an intellectual hobby or a leisure activity. He sees literacy as part of humanity’s mechanism for survival in modern life.
Not only economically, but also mentally and psychologically.
He believes that people who are accustomed to reading generally possess broader perspectives when facing life’s difficulties. They are less likely to panic because they have encountered various viewpoints through books.
In community discussions, he often explains how books help people understand grief, loss, social pressure, and even personal failure.
“Sometimes people think they suffer the most simply because they have never encountered other experiences,” he once remarked.
Books provide those experiences.
Someone who reads novels about war may gain insight into trauma. Those who read philosophy may learn to accept uncertainty. Readers of history realize that social crises repeatedly occur in different forms across generations.
This is why he believes literacy has a profound psychological impact.
Amid the fast-paced culture of social media, he sees reading as an essential pause for mental well-being. Books allow people to slow down, reflect, and distance themselves from the constant noise of digital life.
In his view, societies that rarely read are more vulnerable to provocation and less capable of understanding complex issues.
Meanwhile, literate societies tend to respond to differences with greater calmness and maturity.
3. Literacy Activists Are Sincere People
One of the strongest impressions from his long journey has been meeting people he considers genuinely sincere.
He describes literacy activists as a unique group of individuals.
Over the years of managing communities, he rarely encountered people expecting financial success from literacy work. Most remain involved because of their love for books, education, and ideas.
“Perhaps because this field does not generate much money,” he once said with a quiet laugh during a discussion.
Yet that is precisely why he sees so many people driven by pure passion.
He has known individuals who used their personal savings to buy books for communities. Some lent their homes for discussions. Others traveled long distances simply to spend hours discussing a single book.
Experiences like these strengthened his belief that the world of literacy still preserves a strong sense of idealism.
According to him, literacy activists often work quietly, far from public attention. Unlike entertainment or politics, literacy movements usually grow in silence.
Yet from those silent spaces emerge many meaningful transformations.
He remembers how several community members who were once shy eventually became writers, teachers, or social activists. Others developed confidence in public speaking after regularly participating in book discussions.
For him, these are forms of success rarely captured by statistics.
4. Working with Government Institutions Revealed a Different Reality
Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz’s journey has not been limited to independent communities. In recent years, he has also collaborated with government institutions through literacy programs and reading-interest organizations.
Through these experiences, he discovered realities that many people rarely notice.
He realized that budgets for books and literacy development at the regional level remain extremely limited. In fact, based on his observations, local library offices are often among the institutions receiving the smallest budget allocations.
This experience gave him a deeper understanding of how difficult literacy advocacy can be in regional areas.
On one hand, society expects reading culture to improve. On the other hand, facilities and funding are often inadequate.
He has witnessed regional libraries struggling with very limited resources. Book collections are insufficient, programs receive minimal funding, and the number of literacy workers remains small.
Yet he also witnessed librarians and literacy activists continuing to work tirelessly despite those limitations.
From these experiences, he became increasingly convinced that literacy movements cannot rely solely on government support. Community-based initiatives remain essential in sustaining reading culture.
That is why he has always believed that even small communities can create significant impact.
5. Book Lovers Are Often the Happiest People
Another compelling reflection from Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz concerns his view of happiness among book lovers.
He often noticed that avid readers appear to live more peacefully. Not because they are wealthy or possess large bank accounts, but because they have a deep passion for something meaningful.
“People who have a close relationship with books usually possess a richer inner world,” he said.
He even describes reading as having its own spiritual dimension.
Not spirituality in a strictly ritualistic sense, but the inner experience that occurs when someone immerses themselves in a book, encounters new ideas, and feels personally transformed afterward.
According to him, reading creates a silent conversation between human beings and themselves.
And in a modern era filled with endless noise, the ability to engage in self-reflection has become increasingly rare.
He has observed that many readers can enjoy solitude without feeling lonely. They possess imagination, reflection, and curiosity that continue to grow throughout their lives.
This perspective emerged from his encounters with countless book lovers over more than a decade.
Some live modestly. Some are far from financially established. Yet many still appear genuinely happy because they have found something they deeply love.
Literacy Communities Initiated by Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz
His literacy journey can also be traced through several communities he helped develop in Blitar.
1. Forum Lingkar Pena (2008–2021)
This community became one of the earliest spaces that shaped his literary and writing activities. Its primary focus was developing writing skills and producing literary as well as non-fiction works.
2. Komunitas Muara Baca (2018–2021)
This forum focused on discussions and critical reviews of books related to politics and nationalism. The discussions were often intense because they addressed contemporary Indonesian social issues.
3. Paguyuban Srengenge (2013–2024)
This community served as a platform for studying books on philosophy, religion, and ideology. Its discussions were known for their depth and intellectual seriousness.
4. Gerakan Pemasyarakatan Minat Baca Kabupaten Blitar (2022–2025)
Through this organization, he contributed to promoting reading culture within society. It also supervised Perkumpulan Suara Sastra, a platform dedicated to literary and literacy activities.
In addition to offline communities, Ahmad Fahrizal Aziz also manages the Instagram account “Sahabat Buku Blitar” and the literary blog Narakata Media, both of which contain book reviews, reflections, and literacy-related activities.
Amid today’s fast-paced digital culture, he still believes books will always find their readers.
Because as long as human beings continue searching for meaning in life, literacy will continue to survive.
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