Idrus
| Idrus | |
|---|---|
Idrus c. 1955
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| Born | 21 September 1921 Padang, West Sumatera, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 18 May 1979 (aged 57) Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | Indonesian |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Period | 1943–1975 |
| Genre | Short stories, novels |
| Spouse | Ratna Suri Hussein. |
Idrus (21 September 1921 – 18 May 1979) was an Indonesian author best known for his realistic short stories and novels. He is known as the representative of the prose of the '45 generation of Indonesian literature.
Idrus was born in Padang, West Sumatera on 21 September 1921. His education before the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1942 was entirely in Dutch-run schools, where he read works of Western literature and practiced writing short stories; he finished his education in 1943, then began working at Balai Pustaka – the state-owned publisher of the Dutch East Indies – as an editor. Between 1943 and 1944, Idrus wrote six short stories that were eventually published in the collection Corat-Coret di Bawah Tanah (Underground Markings).
At the beginning of the Indonesian National Revolution, where Indonesian revolutionaries asserted independence between the Japanese surrender and Dutch return, Idrus was in Surabaya, East Java; while there, he witnessed the Battle of Surabaya, in which British forces under the command of Aubertin Walter Sothern Mallaby and revolutionary forces under the command of Moestopo began fighting after a miscommunication. In response, he wrote the novelette "Surabaja" about the human issues faced during the battle and aftermath from October 1945 to May 1946; Indonesian writer and literary critic Muhammad Balfas describes it as "perhaps the only satire of the Indonesian revolution".
During the war, Idrus became increasingly contemplative. His following works, the short story "Jalan Lain ke Roma" ("Another Way to Rome"), novelette Perempuan dan Kebangsaan (Women and Nationalism; published in the magazine Indonesia in 1949), and novel Aki (1950). After pressure from the communist-backed Lembaga Kebudajaan Rakjat, Idrus fled to Malaysia, where he published Dengan Mata Terbuka (With Eyes Open; 1961), and Hati Nurani Manusia (Man's Conscious; 1963). All of these later writings were less well received.
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