Sitor Situmorang
Sitor Situmorang | |
---|---|
Born | Harianboho, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies | 2 October 1924
Died | 21 December 2014 Apeldoorn, Netherlands | (aged 90)
Occupation | poet, writer, journalist, university lector |
Language | Indonesian |
Nationality | Indonesia Netherlands |
Genre | poetry, short story, drama, essay, autobiography |
Subject | Batak people, and others |
Literary movement | 45 |
Notable works | Surat Kertas Hijau |
Sitor Situmorang (2 October 1924 – 21 December 2014) was an Indonesian poet, essayist and writer of short stories. Situmorang was born in Harianboho, North Sumatra, and educated in Jakarta. He worked as a journalist and literary critic in Medan, Yogyakarta and Jakarta for a variety of newspapers and periodicals.[1]
Sitor was considered by Dutch scholar and critic of Indonesian literature
Early life
He was born in 1924[4] in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra and moved to Jakarta to study at AMS. After graduating from AMS, he went to the US to further study cinematography at the University of California (1956–57).[5]
When he grew up, Indonesia was under Dutch rule and a European-style education was provided only for a small minority of the population. Therefore, during high school he studied mostly
Career
He started his career as a journalist in North Sumatra at Suara Nasional (1945–1946) and Waspada (1947). He was assigned to Yogyakarta (1947–1948) and later worked for Berita Indonesia and Warta Dunia (1957).[1]
His first poem "Kaliurang" was written in 1948 in the style of
During 1950 – 1953, he stayed in Amsterdam and Paris to observe European cultures, funded by a scholarship from a Netherlands foundation.[5] His brief stay in Paris influenced some of his works, such as Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris (1956, collection of short stories) and Paris la Nuit[6] (2002, collection of poems).
He published Surat Kertas Hijau (Green Paper Letters) in 1954, a collection of poems, in which he expressed his emotional and intellectual crisis of love and national identity.[5]
This publication established him as a prominent and respected poet.[7]
Since 1950, he was actively involved in cultural
He was once taught Indonesian at Leiden University, Netherlands during 1982–1990.[5] On 21 December 2014, he died at the age of 91 at his home in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.[9]
Selected works
He won awards for his works: Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris (Struggle and Snow in Paris), (1956, collection of short stories) from Jakarta Arts Council and Peta Perjalanan (Travel Guide ), (1976, collection of poems) from Badan Musawarat Kebudayaan Nasional[5]
Some of his works have been translated to other languages such as : Paris La Nuit (Paris at Night, 2001), a collection of poetry, into French, English and Russian,[10] and Rindu Kelana into English.[7][11] His complete short stories have been translated and published in English in two volumes by Silkworm Books: Oceans of Longing: Nine Stories (2018) and Red Gerberas: Short Stories (2018).
Collections of poems
- Surat Kertas Hijau (Green Paper Letters), (1953)
- Dalam Sajak (In Poems), (1954)
- Wajah Tak Bernama (Face Without a Name), (1955)
- Zaman Baru (A New Era), (1962)
- Dinding Waktu (Wall of Time), (1977)
- Peta Perjalanan (Travel Guide ), (1977) – Poetry Award from Jakarta Arts Council winner
- The Rites of the Bali Aga, (1977)
- Angin Danau (Lake Wind), 1982
- Bunga di Atas Batu: Si Anak Hilang (Flowers on Stone: The Prodigal Son), 1989
- Rindu Kelana (To Love, To Wander), 1993 – translated in 1996 by John McGlynn, The Lontar Foundation
- Paris La Nuit, 2000
- Lembah Kekal (Eternal Valley), 2004
- Biksu Tak Berjubah (Monk Without Cassock), 2004
- Si Anak Hilang (The Lost Child)
Collections of short stories
- Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris (Struggle and Snow in Paris), ( 1956) – winner of Hadiah Sastra Nasional BMKN
- Pangeran (The Prince),(1963)
- Danau Toba (The Lake Toba),(1981)
- Oceans of Longing: Nine Stories (Silkworm Books, 2018; translated by H. Aveling, K. Foulcher, and B. Roberts)
- Red Gerberas: Short Stories (Silkworm Books, 2018; translated by H. Aveling)
- Jalan Mutiara (Road of Pearls, collection of plays), (1954)
- Sastra Revolusioner, essay collections (1965)
- Sitor Situmorang Sastrawan 45, Penyair Danau Toba, autobiography (1981)
- Toba na Sae (1993), local history
- Guru Somalaing dan Modigliani Utusan Raja Rom, (1993), local history.
- Betlehem (1954) by M. Nijhoff, translation
- Rindu Kelana (The Need to Wander), (2004) short documentary by Ed Pesta Sirait – The Lontar Foundation[12]
References
- ^ ISBN 9796663589.
- ISBN 9024723086.
- ^ Helmi, Kunang (13 April 2008). "Sitor Situmorang remembers his Batak childhood". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ISBN 9789794162385.
- ^ ISBN 9794036021.
- ISBN 9799620155.
- ^ ISBN 9798083253.
- S2CID 162272235.
- ^ "Sitor Situmorang, senior Indonesian writer dies at 91". The Jakartapost.com. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Febrina, Anissa (26 October 2009). "Sitor Situmorang : Always a Wanderer". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "Sitor Situmorang". www.poetrytranslation.org. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ "Biography of Situmorang, Sitor, 1923- | Southeast Asia Digital Library". sea.lib.niu.edu. Retrieved 11 July 2022.