Nyanyi Sunyi
Cover, third printing
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| Author | Amir Hamzah |
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| Country | Dutch East Indies |
| Language | Malay |
| Genre | Poetry collection |
| Publisher | Poedjangga Baroe |
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Publication date
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November 1937 |
| Media type | Print (softcover) |
| Pages | 31 (third edition) |
Njanji Soenji (Republican Spelling: Njanji Sunji; Perfected Spelling: Nyanyi Sunyi; Indonesian for "Songs of Solitude" or "Songs of Silence") is a 1937 poetry collection by Amir Hamzah. Written some time after the poet was forced to marry the daughter of the Sultan of Langkat instead of his chosen love in Java, this collection consists of 24 titled poems and pieces of lyrical prose, none of which are dated. First published in the magazine Poedjangga Baroe, the collection has been republished as a stand-alone book several times.
Analysis of Nyanyi Sunyi has focused on the theme of God and His relationship to humanity, as well as of aspects of human existence: fate, dissatisfaction, and escape. Literary critics H.B. Jassin and Zuber Usman view the collection as an attempt to address Amir’s worldly problems. The collection has been noted as difficult to read owing to its usage of rarely used Malay and Javanese terms and basis in Islamic culture and Malay history. Despite this, Nyanyi Sunyi has been described as freer in its form than traditional Malay poetry, with what poet Chairil Anwar termed "compactly violent, sharp, and yet short" sentences which brought a new style to the Indonesian language.
Amir Hamzah (1911–1946) was a Dutch-educated Malay writer of noble descent and devout Muslim. He was well-oriented in traditional Malay literature, with favourites including historical texts such as Hikayat Hang Tuah, Syair Siti Zubaidah, and Hikayat Panca Tanderan. Amir likewise read works of Arabic, Persian, and Hindu literature. As a result, he had an extensive vocabulary.
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