Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (11 February 1908 – 17 July 1994) was an Indonesian author. He was born in Natal,

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

. His family came from Minangkabau who migrated there in the 19th century. He was a founder and editor of ''

Poedjangga Baroe ''Poedjangga Baroe'' (pronounced ; Perfected spelling: ''Pujangga Baru'', also known by the intermediate spelling ''Pudjangga Baru'') was an Indonesian ''avant-garde'' literary magazine published from July 1933 to February 1942. It was founded ...

''. He became one of Indonesian literature's guiding lights in its formative years, particularly in the time around independence. Sutan Takdir believed that Indonesia could learn from the values of western civilization and remained a great exponent of modernism throughout his life. A Renaissance man himself – the author of numerous books on a range of subjects – he was working on a novel at the time of his death in 1994. The famous novel, ''

Layar Terkembang ''Layar Terkembang'' (''With Sails Unfurled'') is an Indonesian novel by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana. Published in 1936 or 1937 by Balai Pustaka, it tells the story of two sisters and their relationship with a medical student. It has been noted as em ...

'', showed him as a progressive author. He died in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

on 17 July 1994.

Biography

Alisjahbana was born on 11 February 1908. His first novel, ''Tak Putus Dirundung Malang'' (Misfortune without End) was published by

Balai Pustaka Balai Pustaka (; also spelled Balai Poestaka, both meaning "Bureau of Literature") is the state-owned publisher of Indonesia and publisher of major pieces of Indonesian literature such as ''Salah Asuhan'', ''Sitti Nurbaya'' and ''Layar Terkemb ...

in 1929. STA Together with

Amir Hamzah Tengku Amir Hamzah (February 1911 – 20 March 1946) was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia. Born into a Malay aristocratic family in the Sultanate of Langkat in North Sumatra, he was educated in both Sumatra and Java. Whi ...

and

Armijn Pane Armijn Pane (18 August 1908 – 16 February 1970), also known as Adinata, A. Soul, Empe, A. Mada, A. Banner, and Kartono, was an Indonesian author. Life Armijn Pane was born in Moeara Sipongi, Tapanuli, Sumatra, the third of eight children. He ...

, they founded and edited a journal that contained the best work of prewar writers, called ''

'' (The New Writer), and the journal was first published in 1933. In 1953, he edited ''Konfrontasi'' (Confrontation) as a substitute for ''Poedjangga Baroe''. Under Japanese occupation, in 1943 he became a secretary of the Komisi Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Language Commission). From 1946 to 1948, he was a professor of the Indonesian language at National University, Jakarta.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alisjahbana, Sutan Takdir 1908 births 1994 deaths Indonesian writers Indonesian philosophers Indonesian male poets Minangkabau people 20th-century Indonesian poets Sutan Takdir 20th-century male writers