HB Jassin
| Hans Bague Jassin | |
|---|---|
HB Jassin, 1990s
|
|
| Born |
13 July 1917 Gorontalo, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 11 March 2000 (aged 82) Jakarta |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Fields | Literary criticism, documentation |
| Alma mater |
University of Indonesia Yale University |
| Known for | Documentation and criticism of Indonesian literature |
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 elementary school, later writing published reviews before finishing high school. After a while working in the Gorontalo regent's office, he moved to Jakarta where he worked at the state publisher Balai Pustaka. After leaving the publisher, he attended the University of Indonesia and later Yale. Returning to Indonesia to be a teacher, he also headed Sastra magazine. Horison, a literary magazine, was started in July 1966 by Jassin and Mochtar Lubis as a successor to Sastra, and was edited by Taufiq Ismail, Ds. Muljanto, Zaini, Su Hok Djin, and Goenawan Mohamad. In 1971, Jassin was given a one-year prison sentence and a two-year probation period because as the editor of Sastra, he refused to reveal the identity of an anonymous writer who wrote a story which was considered by the court to be blasphemous.
After his release, he founded HB Jassin Literary Documentation Center, using it to document Indonesian literature. After suffering six strokes towards the end of his life, Jassin died on 11 March 2000 and was buried in the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery. During his life Jassin was highly recognized for his work, acquiring the nickname "The Pope of Indonesian Literature" and receiving numerous awards.
Jassin was born in Gorontalo, Gorontalo on 31 July 1917 to a Bague Mantu Jassin, a Muslim bibliophilic Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij employee, and his wife Habibah Jau. He had five brothers and sisters. He attended at a hollandsch-inlandsche school, a Dutch-language school for native Indonesians, in Gorontalo, where he began to read extensively. His family later moved to Medan, North Sumatra, where he attended a hogere burger school, or five-year secondary education program for native Indonesians. During this period, he began to write literary reviews, which were published in local magazines. He also read numerous works of Western literature.
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