Karim Halim (December 1918 in

Sumatera Barat West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...

– 1989) was an Indonesian literary writer. For his prose works, he most commonly wrote under his own name, but for poetry he often wrote under the pseudonym R.O. Hanka. He reportedly also used the pseudonyms Atma Anoma and Sekarijadi.

Educational Background

He attended a Sekolah Melayu in his hometown, then continued his education in a "linking" Schakelschool which allowed him to continue to a European system Mulo school. In 1941, Karim continued his education in an HIK

Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...

school in Solo, Central Java. In 1955, Karim was given a UNESCO certificate.Rosidi A. 1969. Ikhtisar Sejarah Sastra Indonesia. Bandung: Bina Cipta.

Literary Background and Work

Halim began to write poetry while he was a student, publishing poetry in Adil, Panji Islam, Pedoman Masyarakat, Islam Raja, and Pujangga Baru. During this period, Karim's poetry tended to have a sad tone. In his contributions during the "pujangga baru" period in the late 1930s and early 1940s, his poetry was influenced by his education, and thus was Islamic flavored, for example a poem entitled "Goda".Teeuw, A. 1967. Modern Indonesian Literature. KITLV Translation Series 10. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. His first novelette was probably ''Fadjar Menjingsing'' which appeared in the Medan literary periodical ''Doenia Pengalaman'' in 1940. In early 1945, Karim Halim published a novel, ''Roman-Pantjaroba-Palawidja'' which describes looting and anti-Chinese violence in West Java during the beginning of the Japanese occupation, but which seems also to have been intended as propaganda for the Japanese sponsored Javanese defense force

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

which was founded around the time the novel was written. He was also engaged in translating literary works, including a 1945 translation of Sakae Shioya's '' Chushingura: An Exposition'' (Tokyo, 1940), which he undertook with

HB Jassin Hans Bague Jassin (31 July 1917 – 11 March 2000), better known as HB Jassin, was an Indonesian literary critic, documentarian, and professor. Born in Gorontalo to a bibliophilic petroleum company employee, Jassin began reading while still in ele ...

.Horton, William Bradley. 2013.
Wartime Dreams of Co-Prosperity on Java: The Absence of the 1945 Novel Roman-Pantjaroba Palawidja in Postwar Indonesian Society
, アジア太平洋討究 20.

References

20th-century Indonesian poets Indonesian male novelists Indonesian novelists Indonesian translators Indonesian dramatists and playwrights Indonesian non-fiction writers Minangkabau people 1918 births 1989 deaths 20th-century translators Indonesian male poets 20th-century male writers Male non-fiction writers {{Asia-translator-stub