Taufiq Ismail | |
---|---|
Taufiq Ismail
|
|
Born |
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia |
25 June 1935
Nationality | Indonesia |
Ethnicity | Minang |
Genre | Poetry |
Literary movement | Angkatan '66 |
Notable awards | Anugerah Seni, Pemerintah RI. (1970); S.E.A. Write Award (1994);Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma (2016) |
Children | 1 son |
|
|
Signature |
Taufiq Ismail is an Indonesian poet and activist. Ismail figured prominently in Indonesian literature of the post-Sukarno period and is considered one of the pioneers of the "Generation of '66". He completed his education at the University of Indonesia. Before becoming active as a writer, he taught at the Institut Pertanian Bogor. In 1963, he signed the "Cultural Manifesto" as a document that opposed linking art to politics. This cost him his teaching position at the Institut.
Ismail wrote many poems, of which the best-known are: Malu (Aku) Jadi Orang Indonesia, Tirani dan Benteng, Tirani, Benteng, Buku Tamu Musim Perjuangan, Sajak Ladang Jagung, Kenalkan, Saya Hewan, Puisi-puisi Langit, Prahara Budaya : Kilas Balik Ofensif Lekra, Ketika Kata Ketika Warna and Seulawah-Antologi Sastra Aceh. Bored with his serious writing style, in 1970 he began writing poems mixed with humor. He has won many awards, including the "Cultural Visit Award" from the Australian government (1977) and the S.E.A. Write Award (1994).
Taufiq Ismail was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, on June 25, 1935. He was reared in a teacher and journalist family. He had wanted to become writer since he was in high school. His reading hobby was more satisfied when Taufiq became the librarian in Pelajar Islam Indonesia Pekalongan's library, where he read the works of Chairil Anwar, William Saroyan, and Karl May, besides books about history, politics, and religion.
He attended high school in Pekalongan, Central Java, and then Whitefish Bay High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a scholarship from American Field Service International. There he read the works of Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman. He also liked Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.